India's booming middle-class is driving the demand for meat in a country with a traditionally low intake - a survey in 2006 showed that 40 per cent of the population were vegetarian.

Fish and meat have long been part of other Indians' diets but for many they used to be a rarity, said Arvind Singhal, chairman of the consumer consultancy group Technopak Advisors.

"With rising disposable incomes, meat consumption is increasing," he told AFP. "Before meat would have been seen as for a special occasion."

Members of the Jain faith and some groups within India's majority Hindu religion hold vegetarianism as an ideal. Father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi espoused a meat-free diet as part of his non-violent philosophy.

But fewer of the younger generation appear to feel the same.