Protectors of India's Cows Seek Extra Help

[Jahnava Nitai Das]

Protectors of India's Cows Seek Extra Help

 

NEW DELHI, INDIA, November 7, 2002: Home to 200 million cows, India has banned their killing everywhere except Kerala and some northeastern states. In August 2001, the Central Government established a National Commission for Cattle to suggest ways of improving their condition, especially cows. The commission recommended that a Rapid Cow Protection Force on the lines of other paramilitary forces be instituted, which can operate on an all-India basis for prevention of cow slaughter. The commission's report said those who slaughter cows or smuggle them to Bangladesh, Kerala and illegal slaughterhouses should be booked under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. It recommended a ban on crossbreeding involving imported cattle like Jersey. Indigenous breeds should be encouraged and import of cattle prohibited (because the imported breeds are not well adapted to India's conditions). Many people believe that making cow slaughter illegal would just move the industry underground, resulting in more cruelty towards the animals. The recommendations also further worry the leather industry, which is worth US$4 billion and employs thousands of people. Many retailers like Gap, Donna Karan, and Timberland already refuse to buy Indian leather because of protests by animal rights groups against the ill treatment of cattle in India and their brutal killing in slaughterhouses. There are others who believe that the leather industry would be on the brink of disaster if the government accepts the recommendations of the commission.