Karachi/ Brussels, (Unib Rashid) __ Pakistan’s dairy and livestock sector is facing a severe and largely unchecked crisis as large-scale slaughter of breeding animals and newborn calves threatens the country’s long-term food security, industry representatives warned in an urgent appeal to the nation’s top civil and military leadership.

Shakir Umar Gujjar, Central President of the Dairy & Cattle Farmers Association (DCFA) Pakistan, has formally urged the Chief of Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir, the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers of Punjab and Sindh, the Mayor of Karachi, and key federal bodies including the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) and Green Corporate Livestock Initiative (GCLI) to intervene immediately.

According to the DCFA, commercial dairy operations in Karachi and other urban centers are routinely slaughtering breeding-capable female cows and buffaloes after just one lactation cycle, despite their ability to produce multiple future offspring. Experts warn that this practice is systematically dismantling Pakistan’s livestock reproduction base.

Even more alarming is the daily slaughter of approximately 1,700 day-old calves in Karachi alone, DCFA claims. The meat from these calves is allegedly being sold as “mutton” in high-end restaurants, raising serious concerns of consumer fraud, public health risks, and the destruction of future meat and dairy supplies.

Industry estimates suggest that nearly 1.5 million animals—breeding females and calves—are lost annually due to these practices. Livestock experts caution that without the poultry sector compensating for protein demand, Pakistan would already be facing a nationwide nutrition crisis.

“This is not just an agricultural issue—it is a national food security emergency,” Gujjar stated. “We are killing the factories that produce milk, meat, and future livestock generations.”

The DCFA has termed the situation a direct contradiction to Pakistan’s stated policy goals under SIFC and GCLI, which aim to attract billions of dollars in agricultural and livestock investment. “Export ambitions cannot succeed while the domestic herd is being liquidated,” the appeal notes.

Among the key demands, the association has called on the Remount, Veterinary & Farms Corps (RV&FC) and GCLI to establish state-managed ‘Salvage Farms’ to house and rehabilitate dry but reproductively viable animals instead of allowing their slaughter. It has also urged provincial governments to strictly enforce existing laws banning the slaughter of pregnant and breeding-capable females and young calves.

The Mayor of Karachi and the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s Veterinary Department have been asked to launch an immediate crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses and restaurants allegedly selling calf meat as mutton.

Experts warn that failure to act could result in long-term shortages of milk and meat, higher food prices, loss of farmer livelihoods, and irreversible damage to Pakistan’s food sovereignty.

“The time to act is now,” the appeal concludes, warning that continued inaction will leave future generations facing severe shortages of basic nutrition.