PREVENTION OF COW SLAUGHTER : ECONOMIC GAINS AS
PRIMARY CONSIDERATION
Dr. Narayan G. Hegde
Livestock in India
Livestock is an important natural resource for supporting livelihood in rural areas. India has the largest number of livestock, representing about 17% of the world population. Out of the present 450 million heads of livestock, cattle represent 43.11 (194 million) followed by goats (26.22%), buffaloes (19.78%) and sheep (10.89%). Among these categories of domestic animals, cattle has been very popular
among the farming community, irrespective of their religion and region. In fact in 1951, cattle represented about 55% of the total livestock, while the other three categories represented about 15% each. The gradual shift from cattle to goats over the past four decades indicates the pressure on fodder and pasture resources, forcing farmers to opt for hardier types of animals. It is generally believed that goats can graze and survive on those pastures, which are unfit for cattle and buffaloes. While sheep and goats are maintained by certain sections of the farming communities purely for economic reasons, cows are maintained by all sections of the society both for economic and sentimental reasons.
The cow is considered as a Goddess in Hindu religion. She is also treated as a mother, because she nurtures us with her milk. This is how the relationship between a mother and her children has been established. Cow slaughter in India was banned long ago, probably during the time of Muslim invasion. Ever since the caste system was introduced, some sections of the Hindus were free to consume meat as they needed more calories for carrying out strenuous work. However, to save good milch animals from slaughter, the concept of the holy cow and ban on her slaughter must have been introduced. Today it has become a religion-dominated political issue. But unfortunately, no serious efforts are being made to conduct indepth studies to identify the root-causes of this issue and find a suitable solution. No doubt our cattle wealth must be saved but introducing a legal ban would mean treating the symptoms and not the disease.
Livestock to support Rural Economy
Barring about 10% milch cows and buffaloes, rest of the animals are presently let loose on community lands and forests for free grazing. This is mainly due to low
productivity and inadequate cash income from these animals, although the livestock contribute in many ways to boost our economy. India is predominantly dependent on bullock power for agriculture and rural transportation. Milk is the major source of protein for both children and adults, particularly those who are vegetarians. Dung has been the main source of manure for agricultural production. Today, inspite of the heavy influence of chemical fertilisers, farmyard manure is in great demand, because of its eco-friendly benefits apart from other advantages such as easy availability, low cost, better soil moisture retention and improvement in the quality of the produce. Thus the cow in Hindu religious scripts has been referred to as `Kamdhenu'- that
which fulfils human needs. Truly the cattle gives back more to nature, as compared to their intake. They consume agricultural by-products, wastes and provide us milk, bullock power and dung which can be used for production of food and energy. Even after their death, cattle hide fetches a good value, while the bone-meal makes an excellent quality organic manure. Inspite of such valuable contribution, we have now reached a stage, where legal protection is being sought to save our cattle. Certainly, something has gone wrong. It is probably the farmers who are not able to harness or visualise the benefits of the `Kamdhenu' and hence allow her to reach the slaughter house. In such a situation, a ban on cow slaughter may stop legal slaughter for sometime, without solving the problem of her productivity. Therefore, it is necessary to study the problems associated with the so called unproductive cattle and initiate suitable actions to save them. This problem holds good for all categories of livestock but cow slaughter being a sentimental issue, the discussion is confined to
this category alone.
India is rich in cattle wealth, with over 16 native breeds, identified for milch draft and dual purpose breeds in different agro-climatic zones. Apparently, our forefathers had good knowledge of livestock breeding and management to maintain these breeds in pure form for thousands of years. However, in the process of population expansion, the strict norms of breeding and feeding practices were not followed by the farmers. In the absence of adequate feed resources, the cattle were let out for free grazing on community pastures, where they were bred by non-descript and inferior quality bulls. Thus the population of non-descript type cattle kept on increasing, which has now reached about 75-80% of the total population. In the absence of good quality feed and fodder resources, the productivity of the cows might come down further. Presently our local nondescript cows yield about 300 litres of milk in 250 days and remain dry for another 6-8 months, before next calving. It has now become a vicious cycle. As the productivity of the cows are low, farmers want to maintain more animals to meet their demand for milk and other products. As the animals are allowed to graze free of cost on community lands, they have no economic pressure or restriction to increase the herd size. However, increased cattle population has denuded the community pastures and subsequently invaded the neighbouring forests as well. With the introduction of high yielding varieties of food crops to meet the needs of the growing human population, the yield of crop residues has fallen down causing significant problem of fodder shortage. As the process continues, feeling the pressure of fodder scarcity and inability of the large animals like cattle to graze on denuded community pastures, farmers particularly in dry regions have been shifting from cattle to goats, which are hardier and are allowing them to graze on inferior quality grasslands. Goats yield both milk and meat while surviving in harsh conditions, walking several kilometers in search of fodder. Unproductive goats can be sold easily for meat, while it is difficult to dispose off unproductive cattle due to the sentimental feelings and religious pressure, prevalent in rural areas. Nevertheless, some of these animals reach the slaughter house through several middlemen.
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Cow slaughter has now become a political issue and many state governments have imposed a ban on cow slaughter without finding alternate solutions to manage these low productive cattle. Under such a situation, cow slaughter will still continue in connivance with a few corrupt officials, who are responsible for enforcing the ban. This is so, because during the years of fodder scarcity, farmers might wish to get rid of their unproductive cattle. Moreover, many of the meat eating people whose religion does not prohibit beef eating and who cannot afford to pay more for chicken or mutton, might buy beef which is less expensive. In such a situation, ban on cow slaughter will only promote corruption. Therefore, it is better if the religious groups desiring to prevent cow slaughter join hands with the government to find ways to improve the economy of cattle husbandry and persuade farmers to save their cattle from slaughter.
Economic viability of cattle
It is certainly feasible and in fact more practical to persuade farmers to save cows because cattle in the real sense is economical. Even a cow without giving milk can benefit the farmer by producing dung. A non-descript cow, weighing about 300 kg, consumes about 10-12 kg dry fodder valued at Rs.10 per day. In return she produces about 20-25 kg dung. As manure, dung fetches Rs.300 per tonne and hence about 75% feeding cost of the cow can be recovered. In this situation, some farmers may like to get rid of their unproductive cattle. However, instead of using the dung directly as manure, it is advisable to primarily use it for producing biogas and the left over slurry turns into superior quality farmyard manure. It is estimated that about 1000 litres of methane gas produced from 25 kg dung is equivalent to 1.25 litres of kerosene. Thus the value of biogas generated from the dung of a cow per day is equivalent to about Rs.6-7 (as kerosene is sold at Rs. 5 in the open market). The left over slurry, weighing about 40-50 kg, valued at Rs.6-8 can be mixed with almost an equal amount of agricultural waste for converting into farmyard manure. Thus the total income from dung when used for biogas will be about Rs.12-15, leaving a daily income of Rs. 2-5 per cow. This income can be enhanced further by better feeding and breeding practices. By feeding better quality feed, the intake of cow can be increased. This in turn will increase the dung production, while improving her over-all productivity. In such a situation, farmers would not mind maintaining their cows even without milk production.
The next step is to improve their reproductive efficiency by checking their health status. Many nondescript cows, particularly those suffering from malnutrition end up with reproductive problems and do not conceive easily. This results in long dry period, leading to economic losses. Thus, timely diagnosis of the breeding problems, followed by suitable medication and enriched feeding practices will induce regular breeding and improved milk production. Increased milk yield will further add to the profitability. For breeding non-descript cows, farmers can avail the facilities of artificial insemination using the bulls of exotic or improved local breeds, so that the female calves born to those cows can produce more milk and boost the income further.
When a nondescript cow is bred with superior quality Gir, Red Sindhi, Sahiwal or Kankrej bull, the daughter can come into milk production in 4 years and yield about 1000-1200 litres of milk during a lactation of 300 days. However, if she is bred with Jersey or Holstein bull, the newly born female calf can come into milk production only at the age of three years and yield 2000-2500 litres of milk per lactation. Such cross-bred cows are highly profitable as a cow can yield a net surplus of Rs. 5000-7000 per year. The net annual income can cross even Rs 12,000 per cow, if the
farmers can take up the selling of milk directly. Thus with two cross-bred cows, a rural family can make a decent earning, keeping themselves well above poverty. With these high yielding cows, their urge to maintain a large number of animals will also come down. The farmers will be able to take good care of their productive animals. In such a situation, farmers would not like to lose their cattle wealth, by selling to butchers for a petty sum.
Unfortunately, most of the farmers neither harness nor are they aware of the benefits of cattle. This calls for extension and motivation at the grass root level. First of all, farmers should be persuaded to stall feed their animals, without letting them loose on degraded pastures and forests. Experiences have confirmed that the productivity of pasture lands can be enhanced by 2-3 times by preventing browsing in the early stages of grass growth. If farmers adopt the practice of cutting the grass and carrying it home, the fodder availability per head of cattle can be almost twice the present level of consumption. This in turn will improve the grass quality and yield. Stall feeding is also necessary to collect the entire quality of dung produced by the cattle.
Cattle for Draft Power
The non-descript animals when stall-fed can serve as seed bed for producing valuable cross-breds which yield 10 times more milk than their mothers. The added benefit of cross-breeding is availability of males for draft power. Farmers in India generally prefer bullocks of well-known draft breeds like Khilar, Hallikar, Amrat mahal, Haryana, Dang, etc., which are big in size, strong and fast at work.
However, the cows of these draft breeds are poor milk yielders and often the farmers allow the male calves to suckle the entire quantity of milk, with a view to enhance their growth rate. Inspite of good feeding, the bullocks of native breeds will be ready for work only at the age of 4.5-5 years and fetch about Rs. 15000 per pair. However, the actual cost of feed alone will be about Rs. 20,000 at Rs.6 per day for 4-5 years. In spite of such negative returns, many villagers have been rearing male calves of draft breeds, as they manage to graze their cattle on community pastures and forests using their free labour without incurring any pocket expenses. Such bullocks produced at the cost of our forests and environment, cannot support our economy for long. On the contrary the cross-bred males grow fast and get ready for work at the age of 2.5 to 3 years. The cross-bred males are available almost at no cost because most of the dairy farmers who do not need bullocks are willing to part with their male calves almost free or at very low cost. No doubt the cross-bred bullocks cannot be compared without draft breeds, but they are certainly better than the bullocks of non-descript or Indian milch breeds. The cross-bred bullocks are slower when put to work during hot sunny hours. This problem can be solved by putting them to work during early mornings and late afternoons. Most of the farmers who have no experience in using cross-bred bullocks have a misconception about their performance. This can be solved through field demonstration and training programmes.
Awareness and Motivation of Farmers
In the absence of such awareness about the economics of both non-descript local cattle as well as cross-breds, some farmers have been selling their cattle to middlmen in local market, which finally reach the slaughter house. The situation should be prevented by awareness, better feeding, breed improvement and efficient use of dung and not by legislation. It is through persuasion, that farmers will be able to make better use of cattle to supplement their income. There is no point in forcing farmers to maintain their cattle if they are not willing to take proper care of them. The animals in neglected conditions become a liability as they eat away the available fodder, without adequate return.
Cattle is an excellent link to maintain ecological balance through an efficient nutrient cycle in the developing countries. In the tropics, where destruction of soil organic matter is faster, farmyard manure is a boon for conserving moisture and fertility in the soil. We need to promote mixed farming through agriculture and dairy husbandry for sustainable livelihood in rural area. There is also scope for processing hide, horns and bones of cattle after their natural death, which has been almost neglected. It requires technology for clean handling of the carcass and infrastructure for collection and processing. The Khadi and Village Industries Commission was supposed to organise these activities under the cottage industries, but there is still a long way to go. There is a need to strengthen this activity to boost the profitability of livestock husbandry in rural areas. This is the only long term solution to prevent cow slaughter in India.
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