PREVENTION OF COW SLAUGHTER : ECONOMIC GAINS AS

PRIMARY CONSIDERATION

Dr. Narayan G. Hegde

nghegde@baif.org.in
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.
3

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 overall 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 45 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.