To Make Cow Shelters Safer For Bovines, Maneka Gandhi Pens Gaushala Manual

The manual is an individual initiative by Gandhi at streamlining the working of shelters that exist in deplorable conditions

Outlook Web Bureau

Updated on: 26 December 2017 11:25 am

To Make Cow Shelters Safer For Bovines, Maneka Gandhi Pens Gaushala Manual

Union Minister for Women and Child Development and animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi has penned India's fist 'Gaushala Manual', which lays down basic rules and standard operating procedures to run?cow shelters.

The manual is an individual?initiative by Gandhi?at streamlining the working of?shelters that exist in deplorable conditions,?reported?Hindustan Times.

Gandhi, in the foreword, expressed?her concern over the poor upkeep of the shelters where "abandoned animals are herded in one small closure."

"The mortality rate in gaushalas is 10% a month. The idea behind writing the manual is to make such shelters more sensitive to the need of the animals that are sought to be saved and also make them financially viable," she further wrote. She also slammed the trusts and individuals that runs these shelters by accussing them of animal exploitation. "It's good to have a temple in shelters but what about medical facilities," she asked.

According to the report, Gandhi said that she will send the manual to gaushalas across the country. She also plans to request government departments such as the one in charge of animal husbandry and agencies such as the Animal Welfare Board of India to adopt the manual.

Between 2014 and 2016 the Indian government?spent?Rs 5.8 billion rupees on cow shelters.

Cow shelter aims at providing space to aged bovines who are of no use to farmers.??To prevent unproductive cows being sent to the abattoir, the government started the Rashtriya Gokul Mission?in mid-2014, a national programme?that involves constructing havens for?aged?cows. Proceeds from the animals’ bodily waste are intended to pay for their upkeep. In May 2016 the Indian national government held an inaugural national conference on goshalas.

?Cases?of cow deaths due to starvation at government-aided cow shelters are not something new. In Chhattisgarh itself,?within four months?over 300 cow deaths were reported. According to the locals, they died owing to "starvation and lack of proper care".

Coinciding with a spike in communal conflict across the country in the early 1990s, the promulgation of cow protection laws restarted in 1994, with the introduction of the Delhi Agricultural Cattle Preservation Act. The law made cow slaughter punishable with a five-year prison term and a fine of Rs 10,000.

In recent times, India has seen an increase in attacks on cow smugglers by self styled cow vigilantes, known as gau rakshaks.