Kathmandu Valley Deploys Meat Inspectors Under New Regulations

A total of 123 meat inspectors have been designated within Kathmandu to oversee retail shops and slaughterhouses directly. Additional municipal assignments include six inspectors in Gokarneshwor, five in Kageshwori Manohara, and four in Shankharapur. Authorities clarified that the implementation of the legislation is not intended to displace current business owners or deprive them of their livelihoods. Instead, the initiative seeks to bring traditional operations into a structured, modern, and legal framework. Past attempts to enforce the rules in isolated wards or limited areas failed to achieve significant impact, prompting a decision to treat the entire Kathmandu Valley as a unified zone for simultaneous enforcement. Assigned veterinary professionals and inspectors will conduct health examinations on animals prior to slaughter and inspect the meat afterward to determine whether it remains fit for human consumption. In Bhaktapur, where traditional Newari culture shapes unique meat consumption patterns, a total of 34 personnel have been deployed according to local market demands. Among them, equal distributions of eight inspectors each have been allocated to Bhaktapur Municipality and Suryabinayak Municipality to perform technical tests at slaughterhouses and conduct market surveillance.