Gaushalas Believe That Simply Confining Cattle in an Enclosure and Putting Feed, Fodder (Dry and Green) and Water for Them Is All They Have to Do
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Many people who start and run Gaushalas believe that simply confining cattle in an enclosure and putting feed, fodder (dry and green) and water for them is all they have to do. This is not so and the incredibly high mortality rate of each Gaushala cannot be explained away by simply saying that the animals were in poor condition when they arrived. In most Gaushalas, the animals are kept very poorly. They stand in the open during rain, hot sun or cold. There is usually overcrowding and the animals cannot move freely. The food is either inadequate or placed in such a way that only the dominant/aggressive animals get it. It is usually the cheapest dry hay. The water trough is badly placed. Sewage/drainage systems do not exist and the animals stand in their own faeces, which to us is “useful gobar”, but to them is simply the discard of their bodies. Their feet become infected, they cannot sit or stand and they die quickly from decreased immunity and increased infection. Most Gaushalas do not even have a veterinarian or a surgical unit. If an animal falls down, it stays down till it dies. The unqualified staff have no idea of how to even diagnose the problem. A Gaushala may have a mandir in it venerating the cow, but it rarely has a sickbay in which the animal is treated. Cattle kept in Gaushalas are rarely segregated and calves wander between the large animals and are seldom allowed access to feed and fodder. Bulls mount cows even if they are not in heat, often killing them. After some time, Gaushalas degenerate into semi dairies. The group controlling the Gaushala starts segregating the milking cows from the old and sick ones. These are fed better, made to breed and the milk is collected and distributed among these people. The calves are often sold on the sly to butchers. Gaushalas are also discriminatory in receiving animals. They will take cows but not bullocks or bulls. The males are accepted only after payment in the form of donation and at times, the animals are again set free to not come back at night. They will not take buffaloes, which are equally badly treated and form the greater part of animals that are taken for illegal slaughter. This manual has been produced in order to make Gaushalas, which are essentially hospital/shelters for large animals especially cows, more sensitive to the needs of the animals that are sought to be “saved”. We have given pointers on how to make Gaushalas financially viable. This is the only manual of its kind. It has taken two years to put together. I wish I could say that we saw some really good Gaushalas while we were researching it but, alas, while some were better than others, none of them were truly gentle, loving homes for animals that need professional care. It is not good enough to simply put cows into pens and pat yourself on the back. It must be ensured that they are happy to be there. I hope this manual will help make conditions better for these poor unfortunates. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi Contents Section One Introduction, 3 Section Two Housing Facilities, 6 Section Three Machinery and Equipment, 52 Section Four Management of Gaushala, 65 Section Five Gaushala Records and Employee Management, 96 Section Six Protocols of Rescue, 108 Section Seven Adoption Policy of Gaushalas, 123 Section Eight Euthanasia in Gaushala, 127 Section Nine Disposal of Carcasses from Gaushalas, 131 Section Ten Nutrition Management in Gaushalas, 136 Section Eleven Veterinary Medicine in Gaushala, 183 Section Twelve Self-Sustainable Gaushalas, 298 Section Thirteen Public Relations, Fund Raising, Grants and Donations, 351 2 1 Introduction Gaushala literally means the home for cows and is meant to rescue, shelter, protect, feed, treat and rehabilitate weak, sick, injured, handicapped and abandoned homeless cattle. These are the institutions of India’s great cultural heritage giving concrete example of India’s reverence and affection for animals, particularly for cows. Worshipping the bull – Bail Pola festival, Maharashtra The origin of Gaushalas can be traced back to the Vedic period when social customs and rules laid great emphasis on protection and development of cows for home and oxen for agricultural work. Presently there are more than five thousand Gaushalas in India. They house over six lakh cows maintained at an annual cost running in to thousands of crores. Most of the Overcrowding in a Gaushala and cattle killed in a Gaushala out of faulty drainage. Cow slaughter and cow killed in Gaushalas mismanagement are two sides of the same coin. 3 Gaushalas are being run as charity institutions. The resources of these Gaushalas differ widely in respect to the number and quality of cattle in them, availability of land, their finances and organisation. The major challenges faced by Gaushalas are similar i.e. inadequate resources, lack of trained manpower and empathetic veterinarians. The animals in Gaushalas are old, infirm and maintaining their health is a challenge. Management personnel, do not have a proper scientific knowledge of feeding, housing, care and management of these animals. In addition to this, most Gaushalas do not have the required land for proper housing and grazing of their animals. Since fodder and pasturage are also deficient in these Gaushalas, a large number of cows are kept in a state of semi starvation and disease. It has been realised that institutions with better organisation and management can be self sufficient centres for the welfare for cows, turning Gaushalas into home than prison. “The question is not, "Can they reason?" nor, "Can they talk?" but "Can they suffer?” The five freedoms to aim for a Gaushala are: (1) Freedom from hunger and thirst by ready access to fresh water and a diet to maintain full health and vigour. (2) Freedom from discomfort by providing an appropriate environment including shelter and comfortable resting area. (3) Freedom from pain, injury and disease by prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment. (4) Freedom to express normal behaviour by providing sufficient space, proper facilities and company of the animal’s own kind. 4 (5) Freedom from fear and distress by ensuring conditions and treatment, which avoid mental suffering. These five freedoms can act as a checklist of ideal conditions by which we can assess strength and weakness of any Gaushala and work on their improvement. The problem is that Gaushalas are run like charities and exist mainly on random donations. Also cattle are seen only as productive when they produce milk. However if a Gaushala were to be a thriving business on its own, doing good and making money this will help the cows and change the perspective of people and policy makers who see dry cattle as a nuisance and simply as charity cases due to religion. A dry cow is an extremely useful resource just for its dung and urine, and the existence of a good efficient Gaushala boosts the fertility of the land, increases crop yields and makes farming more lucrative and healthier by removing the need for pesticides and fertilizers. A Gaushala was a common installation in every village. It needs to be revived and seen as an essential part of Indian agricultural rejuvenation. The need of the hour is to open more modern Gaushalas and to strengthen and upgrade the existing Gaushalas so that all free roaming cattle are accommodated properly and their well-being and welfare can be ensured. Gaushalas, once considered as an economic drain today have a lot of potential for production of bio-fertilizers, organic pesticides and insecticides, organic energy, methane gas, panchgavya and other medicines. These have huge potential to become self-sustainable economic units by bringing about improvement in breeding, feeding, housing and healthcare of animals along with proper cattle waste utilization. In this manual, an effort has been made to present standard and practical information on the scientific aspects of housing, feeding, healthcare and waste utilization in a simple and precise form. Comprehensive plans for reorganisation and improvement of existing Gaushalas along with setting up of new Gaushalas have also been extensively discussed. 5 Fig 1. Layout for of Gaushala housing 500 cattle 6 Fig 2. Layout of Gaushala for housing 3000-5000 cattle cattle for housing 3000-5000 Layout of Gaushala 2. Fig 7 2 HOUSING FACILITIES INTRODUCTION Gaushalas are set up to rescue and take care of cattle that has been abandoned or illegally sent for slaughter. Feeding, watering, medical care, maintaining better hygiene and welfare along with providing comfort and protection from inclement weather to the cattle are the primary functions of a Gaushala. This section lays out guidelines for building Gaushala facilities suiting different climatic conditions. LAYOUT OF GAUSHALA The layout of a Gaushala is intended to show the size, number and location of different functional units, which would cater best to the requirements of cattle as well as ease of labour for staff. The layout primarily depends on the herd strength and the land available for construction of different facilities. Attention to details of location and structure has a great effect on the health and comfort of cattle as well as keeping the cost of construction and maintenance low. A. Land requirement For opening or running a Gaushala of 500-800 animals effectively, a minimum space of 1.5-2.0 acres is required. Similarly, for opening or running a Gaushala of 2500 and 5000 animals effectively requires a minimum space of 5 and 10 acres, respectively. Suitable layouts for Gaushala of different sizes (500-800 cattle and more than 3000-5000 cattle) are given in Fig.