Holy Cow

Society’s cruelty to animals is a disgrace that we ignore at the risk of losing our own humanity, says Nirjhar Kasar

Bangalore, April 6: Karnataka passed the Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill, 2010 on Mar 19th, which makes cow slaughter a punishable and a non-bailable offense. But we are a paradoxical lot. Apart from the religious significance the cow holds for Hindus, the value of output from the livestock sector was over Rs.1 lakh crore in 2008-09. India is the third largest leather producer in the world after China and Italy.

But the cow is much more than that. In fact, she is more like you and me than we would care to admit. She is an intelligent animal and can remember things for a long time. Cows are emotionally complex, and even worry about the future. They are known to jump in the air and kick their heels when they figure out problems. Cows like intellectual challenges and get exited just like humans. 

Globally, the United States leads in domestic beef production and consumption and commercially slaughtered 6.27 million cows in 2008. The Humane Farming Association (HFA) of the US interviewed slaughterhouse workers who say, because of the speed with which they are required to work, animals are routinely skinned while apparently alive, still blinking, kicking, and shrieking.

Cows have been known to use their smarts to display amazing qualities, such as leaping over a 6-foot fence to escape from a slaughterhouse. Cows are emotionally developed and grieve when they are separated from their families and become visibly distressed says PETA (People For Ethical Treatment of Animals).It says, one particular cow appeared to be deeply affected by the separation from her calf for a period of at least six weeks.

India is a country where cows are considered sacred and worshiped. But, when PETA examined practices in the Indian dairy industry which they published under the title, Abuse of Cows and Buffaloes Exploited for Milk, they discovered another side of the story. In India most cows are milked by machine, which often keep sucking the animals’ dry udders, causing them a lot of pain due to negligence. India now has the largest dairy industry in the world, where cows are like milk producing machines, says PETA. Cows are given large doses of Oxytocin, an illegal Schedule H drug that makes them produce unnaturally large quantities of milk. The drug makes cows suffer severe stomach cramps that feel like labour pains. 

Also, one of the reasons why India is the world’s largest milk producer is artificial insemination (AI). Cows are repeatedly impregnated in order to yield more progeny. ‘Barefoot healers’, who neglect even the most basic of minimum veterinary standards, treat animals. Doctors often shove their bare, soapy hands into animals’ uteri, causing cows immense pain and exposing them to potential infections and diseases. Cows are held in a cruel manner and beaten in order for the “doctors” to be able to perform AI.

Under The Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act, 1960, the maximum punishment for the most heinous crimes against animals is set at Rs 1,000 with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years. Thus it is public awareness alone that end the terrible plight these sensitive animals suffer at Man’s hands. As musician Paul McCartney observes if slaughter houses had glass walls people would have all been vegetarian.