A journey from slaughterhouse to ‘maternity ward’

Giving moments of joy and contentment to the activists of the Indigenous Cows Protection Force (ICPF), a group promoting natural farming and protection of cows belonging to Indian breeds, the pregnant cow they had rescued the other day from an illegal slaughterhouse at Karakkamandapam in the city delivered a calf at the ICPF ‘Gosala’ at Pappanamcode on Wednesday morning.

Abhilash, the ICPF activist in charge of the gosala, said the cow, christened Nandini, and the calf, Nandeeswaran, are now safe and happy at the gosala. 

‘Express’ had reported on Tuesday about the rescue of the pregnant cow from the butcher’s knife. Praveen Chandran, secretary, ICPF, said there has been a huge response to their gesture, following the Express report on the smuggling in of even pregnant cows for slaughter ahead of the Onam and Id festivals.

 “We have got over 400 enquiries from various parts of the country seeking cows of Indian breeds. Some of them who had no facilities to maintain a cow offered to associate with our venture. Among them, a retired colonel offered a donation to protect the cow and the calf,” he said.

 Interestingly, no government official responsible for protection of animals has come forward to take action against the illegal slaughterhouses that have mushroomed in the city. D Sreekumar, Health Officer of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, had said that as of now, the authorities had no control over the unauthorised slaughterhouses. Organised gangs run these slaughterhouses in communally sensitive areas.

Praveen Chandran said Indian breeds like  Vechur, Kasargod dwarf, Kangayam and Kapila  can be maintained with a small amount of grass and bran mix. “At the gosala here, we don’t give cattle feed to the cows as it contains chicken waste,” he said.

Though the native breeds give only two to three litres of milk a day, the cow dung and urine have better medicinal qualities compared to that of imported hybrid cows. Besides, cow dung of a native breed cow is enough for farming on 30 acres of land, he claimed.

Praveen said ICPF has extended its activity to all the districts in the State, besides the majority of districts in Tamil Nadu. Moreover, it is planning to set up a modern gosala on two acres of land at Anayara to facilitate the people to know the benefits of Indian breeds of cows. Helpline number - 9496043055.