Kozhikode: In the pitchy small hours when the heavy trucks take over the highways, Shyam Kumar*, armed with a red flash baton, tries to pick out vehicles transporting farm animals and poultry.

Shyam Kumar is a livestock inspector with the Kerala government's Department of Animal Husbandry posted at the Karnataka-Kerala border in Kasaragod. "When they see me waving the red light, they step on it and zip away," he says.

Since April 1, hardly any pickup trucks bringing in broiler chicken from Karnataka have stopped at the checkpost.

The speeding trucks not just bring in monetary loss to the government but also are a potential health risk, says Jenson Varghese*, another livestock inspector posted at Walayar checkpost in Palakkad district.

Livestock inspectors are expected to inspect to monitor the movement of farm animals and birds, check their fitness and health, and collect entry fees at the checkposts. "None of this happens at checkposts across Kerala because the trucks rarely stop," says Varghese.

From April 1, the Directorate of Animal Husbandry imposed an entry fee of Re 1 per farm bird such as chicken, duck, and quail; and increased the entry fee of cattle to Rs 75 from Rs 50 per head of cattle. The entry fees for goats, sheep, and pigs have been raised to Rs 65 from Rs 60.

According to an order issued by the Director of Animal Husbandry A Kowsigan on March 31, the entry fees are levied as part of the state government's efforts to mobilise additional revenue and would be used by the department to offer services and increase its production.

But since April 1, its entry fee collection has plummeted because trucks would not stop.

Officially, 37,604 broiler chickens were transported into Kerala through checkposts across the state from April 1 to 5. That is a daily average of 7,521.

In the corresponding period in March, 1,65,172 broiler chickens were transported into Kerala. That is a daily average, a daily average of 33,034 chickens.

From April 16 to 21, the daily average increased to 30,654 chickens. But in the corresponding period in March, the number was 45,854 chickens.

"To begin with, these numbers are abysmally low because poultry transporters take alternative routes to enter Kerala. Those who come by the checkposts do not stop," said the official who shared the data with Onmanorama.com.

In Kasaragod, Shyam Kumar said around five to six pickups transporting chicken leave Kerala through his checkpost around 5 pm and return after 1 am. "They know the Animal Husbandry Department has a checkpost here and they should stop and pay the entry fee. But none of them stop," he said.

Livestock inspectors have written several times to the director asking him to seek the help of the police to enforce his order. "But we have not got any help from the director or the police," he said.

Director Kowsigan did not respond to calls made to his office phone number.

Kasaragod, Walayar, and Parassala are the main entry points to Kerala for livestock, said inspectors.

Walayar checkpost is not used by broiler transporters. Broilers enter Palakkad from Meenakshipuram and Gopalapuram checkposts. Walayar is used to bring in chicks.

Wayalar is the main entry point for cattle for slaughter. "From Friday to Sunday, around 30 container trucks packed with cattle enter Kerala from Walayar," said Varghese.

On average, each container truck transports 30 head of cattle. "If they stop, we could collect around Rs 35 lakh per year only on cattle. But they zip past us on the four-lane road," he said. In the past five months, five trucks might have stopped here, he said.

Cattle from Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu are brought into Kerala mostly from Walayar. Cattle for slaughter from Karnataka are also first taken to Tamil Nadu and then brought to Kerala from Walayar. The transporters do not enter from Kasaragod, said Shyam Kumar.

Out of curiosity, Varghese said, he went to Perumpilavu, Kerala's biggest cattle market on the Thrissur-Malappuram border. "Perumpilavu market is on Tuesday. I found around 20 container trucks lined up there," he said. Kuzhalmannam cattle market in Palakkad is on Saturday.

Around 80% of the cattle are buffaloes. Cattle from these markets are shifted to smaller vehicles and supplied to Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode, Malappuram, and Wayanad.

According to the Union government's rules for transporting livestock, framed under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, transporters should carry with them certificates from veterinary surgeons testifying the cattle and birds are fit to travel and do not suffer from any infectious or contagious or parasitic diseases, and that they are vaccinated.

The livestock inspectors are responsible to check these documents at the checkpost. "They are also authorised to take samples and send them for testing to ensure food safety," said the official.

Livestock vehicles zip away not just because they do not want to pay the entry fees but also because they may not have the certificates, he said.

Transport vehicles should also have a special tailboard, and padding around the sides, and the floor should have anti-slipping material. "For all these, the transporters have one solution. They jam-pack the containers with cattle so that animals will not fall or rub against any hard surface," said Varghese. "In a way, that is good for the animals because we are not able to enforce the law," he said.

Livestock inspectors said bulk buyers such as police camps and training academies, military centres and academies, and CRPF camps insist on certificates and receipts of entry fees, at least the poultry transporters would stop at the checkposts. "Otherwise we will just be standing with the red batons in our hands," said Shyam Kumar.
(*Names changed because they are not authorised to speak to media)