On March 2, the president of India cleared the way for the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill to become law, almost 20 years after it was first passed by the state legislature. The law imposes a comprehensive ban on the slaughter of bulls, bullocks and calves - in addition to cows, which have been protected from slaughter since 1976. The only kind of cattle still permitted on plates in the state is the water buffalo, generally seen as an inferior meat that makes up about 25-30 percent of the market,