By Post the onset of the pandemic, I have had a lot of time to ponder on different things. I recently came across an incident that made me realise how we barely try to coexist with all the animals around us. We humans are full of ourselves and don’t even bat an eye before committing heinous crimes against animals. The poor situation of some of them in my city and state is pretty horrendous. Today I will talk about one such incident that has changed my outlook completely.
A little background on the situation
I live in India, a land where cows are considered sacred and are worshipped by Hindus and some other religions as well. For us, cows aren’t just a source of procuring milk and other dairy products but we have also given them the status of a universal mother because of the giving nature of the beautiful being. Cows are intelligent and stunning beings. They exhibit exquisite loyalty towards their caretakers and facilitate by providing their milk. A lot of households and big-time businesses run due to them. But what if you came to know that a huge chunk of the population takes them for granted and leaves them to die a miserable death on the streets? Let us find out.
The Cattle Community and their Ungrateful Ways of Treating Cattle
The cattle and herding community in my city is so brutal and unabashed about the exploitation of this gentle giant that most of these poor beings aren’t even fed proper food. They scrounge for food that has been dumped in the garbage or get fed stale food by the people of the city. They have no sheds that would protect them and provide them shelter. Instead, they roam around in the entire city and silently deal with excruciating heat, crazy heavy rains and bustling streets full of rash drivers. They are usually shooed away by a lot of people who don’t like them.
This is not even the worst part. They are purposely made to mate so that they get pregnant and start lactating after they give birth. The calves are then separated from their mothers and taken away. Later on, the useless and redundant cattle who have no purpose, are sold to the meat industry and leather industry. An undercover research shows that the government has come with a lot of beneficial schemes. But not a lot of people follow these rules and nothing much is being done for their welfare.
The Incident
Now that you know the background, let’s come to the point. A week ago, I came across a very morose and grim case. Like every other morning, I took my dog for a walk. While he was taking his own sweet time making stinky poop, I saw something lying around on the road at a distance. I decided to drop my dog at home and inspect what was it that had gathered all the stray dogs on that street. When I went close, I was appalled by the sight and let out a loud scream.
The Scary Sight
A malnutritioned cow was lying almost lifeless with her body covered with wounds. A lot of flies were swarming her fragile body and her eyes had gone up. A lot of stray dogs had circled around her and looked concerned. They let a whine out here and there and looked visibly sad. They were protective about the cow and often barked at vehicles passing by too close to the injured baby. As soon as they saw me, they jumped with joy as they knew me well and considered me their friend. I immediately checked if the cow was breathing and let me tell you this, she barely was.
I called a couple of animal welfare numbers I had. But it was too early for them to open which is why I couldn’t reach them. Thankfully, an aunt in the nearby street who is also a fellow animal lover brought three-four wet and dry clothes. She covered the cow’s wounds with the same so as to get rid of the flies. She knew some vets who would surely come on an urgent basis and asked them to come ASAP.
One of them agreed to come. But he lived a little far so we knew we would have to wait for some time. We gave the poor soul some flatbread and water but she just wasn’t in the condition to consume anything. Now and then she would try to get up and wiggle. But she could barely move her limbs so we tried to calm her down by stroking her head and body.
The Treatment
The next thing we did was to look for her tag. It usually has all the information related to the cattle owner. Whoever was her caretaker knew this would happen so he removed the embedded tag from her ears. I legit wanted to skin the scoundrel alive but I don’t think violence is the answer for such situations. Thankfully, the doctor arrived and checked her thoroughly. He gave her three-four injections and provided her with intravenous infusion for almost 30 minutes. She finally opened her eyes and with the help of the doctor, she got up on her feet. We fed her the flatbread and the doctor advised us to feed her some jaggery as it has medicinal properties. As per his diagnosis, she had consumed something poisonous which almost took her life. I was so glad that we had saved her life in time.
The Ghastly Reality
What I saw next, made me want to puke my guts out. Since all this was happening, I kept seeing a guy on a two-wheeler who kept peeking in a rather nosey way. Later on, when the doctor saw him, he realised that this guy was none other than the caretaker of the cow. He must have left her to die and didn’t want to take any responsibility of helping her get better. But he basically was keeping a check on the situation just in case someone helped the cow out and then she would be good enough to be taken back in his shithole of a place where he would exploit her more for her milk. The moment he realised we knew who he was, we bolted towards him but he was quick and left on his two-wheeler.
The doctor told us that he came across at least 50-60 of such heinous cases in a day. The poor cow left our lane and we couldn’t do much to keep her with us as our society wouldn’t be okay with it. We also tried to get an ambulance for her but the lockdown had its limitations and we couldn’t do much to salvage the situation.
My Final Words
I don’t think I will ever sleep peacefully knowing that there are hundreds of lovely angelic animals roaming around helplessly in search of food and shelter while I lead a comfortable life. It is my life’s mission to do something about it and maybe raise enough funds and build a farm/sanctuary where these beautiful creatures get to lead a life that is peaceful and devoid of such troubles. I would like to start by highlighting the plight of these lovely creatures to people who would actually be willing to join hands with me and do something about it. My business partner and I have decided to do our bit for the same and come up with reasonable and executable solutions to make a difference. We hope you will be a part of it too.
If you liked this personal blog then you should surely read our article on how big-hearted and wonderful animals are. Click here to know more.
