Holy Cow! Vet finds 40kg Plastic Waste in Cow’s Belly

Holy Cow! Vet finds 40kg Plastic Waste in Cow’s Belly

Plastic waste weighing over 40 kg was found in a cow’s belly at Kadur in Chikkamagaluru, by a veterinary doctor while treating the animal after it met with an accident.

Mangaluru: Cows are one of the most controversial species in India with some attempting suicide for naming the cow as mother of the nation, Gau Rakshak’s beating up people for protecting cows and political parties banning beef to protect the animal that us worshiped in India. But amid the chaos around the holy cow, few people truly care about what happens to the animals left to wander in the streets, falling victim to poisoning by consuming plastic waste. Here in Mangaluru, we have these saffron groups holding prees meets demanding to ban cow slaughter, illegal trafficking of cattle etc-but have they thought of bringing awareness among the public that many cows that wander on the streets suffer and die feeding on garbage, included plastic waste.

The shocking consequences of such a situation was reflected in the media , which showed 40 Kg of plastic retrieved from a cow’s stomach by a veterinary doctor while treating a cow which had met with an accident. But as alarming as the discovery might look, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. If you look at some of the areas in Mangaluru, you see a bunch of stray cows feeding on the garbage, including waste plastic. Almost every cow grazing in the streets of Indian cities, including Kudla is consuming toxic polythene, and a minimum of 35 to 40 kilos of plastic is present in an average cow’s stomach, according to survey. While 45 kilos was a huge amount, it can go up to more than 50 kilos depending on the size and weight of the animal, sources reveal.

Due to infrastructure in the city which has led to a shortage of grass to graze, also due to scarcity of water, cattle are forced to survive on food waste, and eventually end up ingesting polythene from garbage dumps, which is not only fatal to cows, but also ends up contaminating milk which causes health issues and even cancer among those consuming the toxic milk. Just look at some places in the Bunder area, also while you enter the Panambur beach-every evening cows feed on the garbage which also have plastic waste in it.

Now coming to the real story- Plastic waste weighing over 40 kg was found in a cow’s belly at Kadur in Chikkamagaluru. A veterinary doctor discovered this while treating the animal after it met with an accident. The five-year-old cow belonging to Mahesh Kumar, a resident of the town, was hit by a KSRTC bus one evening. The animal had a deep cut on its belly. Kumar called Dr. Kotresh, the veterinary doctor. Meanwhile, people, who had gathered at the spot, noticed a black object coming out of the belly. The doctor noticed that it was plastic waste, and started to remove the bags one after the other.

The doctor removed 40 kg of plastic material. It included small covers meant for packing food items, plastic paper used to cover dining table, and similar items. Even though the doctor treated the cow after removing the plastic, however, the animal succumbed to the injury next day morning. It’s not surprising, we throw plastic waste all around, without understanding how it is going to affect cattle. The cattle, which roam marriage halls, consume plastic items and suffer from indigestion, initially, and later, develop serious health problems.

In conclusion, The problem with India is we have laws but we don’t implement them. Plastic bags below 40 microns are banned and rag pickers do not take them as they cannot be recycled and are ultimately strewn all over the places. So we have plastic heaps…all over and animals like cows, pigs feed on them. Now, every cow or buffalo which dies in India…in its stomach…one can find at least 30 kg of plastic. It’s a huge thing. The kind of treatment cattle receives for the sake of mere profit and the way they are left to survive on garbage in the streets clearly shows the blatant hypocrisy behind the agenda of cow protection, which is being used to cause communal tension, impose bans and even for lynching people. Even as people are being persecuted and killed on suspicion of consuming beef, there seems to be little effort to stop this open murder of the cow. Just how is this right…

Pics for illustration only

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