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Cows are sacred in India.
Eating beef in the Indian state of Maharashtra now gives diners something extra to chew on – arrest, jail and a fine.
Indian President Pranab Mukherjee has ratified the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill passed in 1995, that calls for anyone selling or eating beef to be jailed for five years and fined 10,000 rupees (NZ$214).
The state banned cow slaughter in 1976 and The Times of India reports the new law expands the ban to include calves and bulls.
Now, only the consumption of water buffalo meat is allowed.
Hindus oppose the slaughter of cows on religious grounds.
“Our dream of a ban on cow slaughter becomes reality now,” Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said in a tweet.
Maharashtra in western India has a population of 110 million and is the third largest state by area. The state capital of Mumbai has a population of 18 million and is the country’s financial capital.
Beef traders say the consumption ban will costs thousands of jobs in a country that is the second biggest exporter of beef after Brazil.
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