The recent ban on the sale of beef by the BJP-ruled states and the demand of several right-wing groups for the extension of the ban across India has sounded an alarm for cattle-owners, traders and lakhs of consumers.
There have been rounds of attacks on individuals, labelled as ‘beef eaters’, adding to the hysteria.
Nothing new, right?
Perhaps, a quick look at these 3 facts and figures might surprise you!
Did You Know?
(1) The ban extends to the slaughter of certain categories of cattle that were earlier permitted – the aged, calves, and males.
Banning slaughter of beef affects our livelihood. How do they (supporters of beef ban) expect us to maintain large cattle when we cannot sell meat?Rakib Hussain, a meat seller in South Delhi
(2) Beef that is exported from India – generally confused with cow-meat – is actually carabeef. With beef – Basmati rice, wheat and several varieties of rice share the lead of items exported from India annually.
(3) According to a study conducted by the US Department of Agriculture (2014), India precedes Brazil and Australia in beef exports.
Word of Caution
In 2014-15, India’s animal products export was Rs 33,128.30 crores – out of which a whopping Rs 29,282.60 crore was beef!
Banning beef signals a big setback for the economy which no government – no matter what their political affiliation – could afford.Senior Official, Agricultural and Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA)
If that weren’t enough, the 2012 Livestock Census registers a 6.75 per cent increase in cattle population. In such a scenario, cattle owners are left with only three options – abandoning their cattle, selling them illegally or sending them to cow protection centres (gaushalas).
India has roughly 80 million old and unproductive cattle – and this has caused inordinate strain on farmers. Most farmers who earlier sold their old cattle to slaughterhouses, are now forced to abandon them.
Out of some hundreds of cows here, more than 400 were abandoned and have been brought from the streets in the past six months,”Gaushala Owner in Delhi’s Bawana (on the condition of anonymity)
Many cow-shelters in and around Delhi are taking care of aged and diseased cows, but a larger portion of abandoned cattle still remain unprotected. Even the shelter owners refuse to take in cows that are seriously ill – preferring that the owner looks after it, a fact confirmed by the owner of Shri Krishna Gaushala.
His gaushala is already serving 7,000 cows, he claims – the largest in the NCR.
Probable Fate?
It isn’t just about the hundreds of cattle which are dying on the streets.
Large sections of people – which fed on cows due to unaffordable prices of vegetables and pulses – have been deprived of their biggest source of protein. For them, the meat from cow-shelters (sold clandestinely in shops) is the only option for survival.
The cheapest source of protein for us is the meat of dead cattle that we get secretly from specific sellers connected to cow-shelters.28-year-old man, a resident of South Delhi’s Okhla area
Those in the lower hierarchy of society also sell off leather to undercover business mafias or illegal traders – who in turn reap huge benefits from foreign buyers.
It’s a vicious cycle.
Where’s the NDMC at?
While the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) has taken charge of disposal and burial of dead cattle coming from these shelters, the shelter owners are unaware of the cremation process. Most of them, in fact, wonder if the cremation even takes place.
Gaushalas and other animal care centres are not allowed to dispose of the bodies of dead cattle – they are supposed to contact the NDMC for this purpose.NDMC Official
Pity it isn’t a better thought-out process.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)