large animal camp-2

Om goshala houses 65 animals rescued from the slaughter houses.They have cows, bulls,buffaloes and calves. It has a huge enclosure where the animals roam free.Most of them are the non descriptive local breed,old and malnourished.In India only 2 states permit slaughtering and that is Kerala and Bengal.The rest is done illegally.



Most people ask me why I make such a big deal about animal slaughter.Once you have decided to kill the animal for food,how does it matter how you do it?I feel only humans are cruel in their killings.Across species we see animals prey on other animals for food.That is ecology.They hunt for what they want,the killing is skilled and swift.But we follow no system,no rules.

Humans are omnivores.There is ample evidence to that in our dental structure.We have incisors to bite, molars to chew and canines to rip and tear.So I have never believed that every human should be a vegetarian.Once we were following some method to obtain our food.There were sects who ate meat and those who survived only on plants.Even amongst those who ate meat,the killings were regular and need based.In different parts of the world different kinds of meat was consumed.For example,in the middle east camel meat is very popular,those who live closer to the poles consume seals,people living along the coast eat different kinds of fish etc.There was a time when people reared their own meat.If a cow or pig was butchered,the meat would last the family for many months.It would be eaten fresh or cured and preserved for the winters.Many factors maintained that balance be it religion, geography,tastes,beliefs etc.

Now there is no balance.As human population increased,so did the killings.Not only that,every country exports meat all over the world.So,now we humans eat everything and many more have converted into meat eaters.We hoard,we waste.Killings are mechanised and not always accurate.Not only for food,meat and other animal product is used in several industries.And this is where the problem comes in.When 1000's of animals have to be killed per day,humane and relatively painless methods of killing take a back seat.

How many of you knew this?
1.In a lorry that should ideally load only 4-5 cows,40 of them are loaded.Animals are dumped one over the other so much so that those right below die of suffocation,fracture or are simply crushed to death before they reach the slaughter houses.
2.Many are tied together and made to walk for miles on end to their own deaths in scorching heat without food or water.When one animal collapses in the chain,the others have to drag the dead along with it.
3.Male calves of all foreign breeds introduced in India for dairy purpose have no use and are immediately sent for slaughter before they can even get their first drop of milk.



4.Calf meat being very minimal is sold by a special name called 'veel' or like in our country mixed with mutton as one can seldom tell the difference.



5.Once loaded into the lorry, to prevent the animals from moving, their eyes are smeared with chilli podwer or tobacco till they go blind and freeze with fear.Their tails are chopped and their flesh gored.



6.Before butchering piping hot water is thrown on them so that they can be deskinned easily.Many a times they are skinned alive.
7.Even the machines that butcher don't always do a perfect job.The animals head isn't severed completely and it is alive as it's sent to the next machine to be deskinned.
8.The moment a bull becomes weak to pull a cart,it becomes useless for the owner and is sent to the slaughter house.




It is said that we are what we eat.I don't know how far that is true or scientifically proven.But logically thinking this argument would hold.We consume meat for the high nutritional contents.But when animals die in such traumatic and fearful conditions definitely there bodies would secrete different kinds of hormones and enzymes all of which infuse into the meat that is consumed.How safe is it then?How would those chemicals react in our bodies?Maybe they are responsible for so many of our medical problems and behavioral changes about which we still don't know.

I am not fanatical to advocate veganism or vegetarianism.I want people to question the quality of their own food.Those who eat meat are the ones who should raise their voices against such cruelty.They have a right to consume safe food what with most of the table animals being grown on artificial feed and excessive hormone injections to fatten them.This perpetration of unnecessary violence has to stop.

Ganganagar bus stop gets converted into a temporary market on festive occasions.Last evening I had been there with my mom to buy flowers and fruits.It was a grey evening with looming dark clouds,the wind was blowing strong and cold.There was a slight drizzle and people were bustling all over to finish their shopping before the downpour.I stopped my bike near a cart selling huge garlands of yellow flowers while my mother went about her purchases.

The man behind the cart was young and happy.He kept looking up at the skies and then at his cart full of flowers.The drizzle only made the flowers look fresher and today was the day he hoped to sell all his flowers.He looked expectantly at the people passing by.I asked him for how long he had been standing there and he said since the afternoon.In the morning he had been to city market bought all those flowers and then set up his shop in the afternoon.

As I was waiting,I saw a man approach the cart.He looked at the young man,patted him twice on the shoulder and said in a very proud voice..."I am an inspector in XYZ police station".I was quite amused by this and was wondering why anyone had to state their profession just to buy flowers.They would look and cost the same to everyone.But that's where I was wrong.The next thing he does is selects couple of garlands for himself,asks the young man to pack it and then looks at him defiantly and repeats again "I am an inspector in XYZ police station".The young man mumbles something,looks very beaten and resigns to a sad smile.To cap this,the inspector's parting words before he walks away without paying for those flowers were "olle vyabara madi".

I just couldn't believe this happened right in front of me and I did nothing about it.It was daylight robbery in every true sense.I asked the young man why he wouldn't pay and he said "Inspectors never pay madam,if we don't give them what they want,they chase us from here and then where would we go?"Ofcourse this man should belong in XYZ police station,only he should be on the other side of those bars!!What kind of unscrupulous and dishonest people we have occupying seats of authority?!He cheats that young man and then ironically crowns it with "olle vyabara madi"!!I was fuming.

My mother came back and and I had to leave.It started to pour heavily and suddenly there was a flurry of activities with vendors covering their goods from the rain and people running for shelter.I looked at the young man again as he placed a blue plastic sheet over those beautiful garlands and walked away towards some shelter looking very dejected.As I left,I sincerely hoped he would have better sales atleast after the rain without being bullied and cheated.