The city’s meat industry is staring at a potential crisis due to a severe shortage of veterinary officers at Asia’s largest slaughterhouse, the Deonar abattoir. with no extension granted to the livestock development officers (LDOs) beyond July 13 and no replacements in place, routine inspections have come to a halt, causing operational gridlock and raising fears of a meat shortage across Mumbai.

According to sources, 15 LDOs from the Maharashtra State Animal Husbandry Department, who were previously stationed at Deonar, have allegedly either been transferred or relieved. These transfers, part of a routine administrative reshuffle ordered by the regional assistant commissioner of Animal Husbandry, were initially deferred until July 13 to maintain operations. However, with no fresh decision from the state government following the expiry of the extension, the situation has worsened.

“Out of the nine veterinary doctors posted earlier, three have already been relieved, two are on leave, and only four remain to examine over 450 animals arriving daily for slaughter,” a senior official said. “Each female animal requires at least 12 minutes of inspection, while a male takes about six minutes, leading to massive delays,” said the official.