General - MAHAMAG Magazine beyond boundaries

The Holy Cow….!!!

All animals are sacred; not just cow. Killing or harming any animal is punishable; not just cow. Then why some nations banned only cow slaughtering. Of course, breeding a cow in our homes will always bring a positive vibrancy. It is because this animal can feed us. Even, cow dung is useful for us and its urine has some medicinal properties too. These reasons make it special. Not because the animal is related to any religion.

Slaughtering cows is banned in Cuba and those who violate the rule will be jailed for seven years. And in Myanmar, those who slaughter the cows will be deported.

Let’s have a look at why these nations have actually banned cow slaughtering. Faced with US trade sanctions, questionable economic policies, drought and rustling, Cuba’s once large cattle herd has been hit hard over the years, leaving many Cubans longing for beef.

This situation forced Cuban officials to take tough measures to protect cattle, even as the government turns to the United States for help in restocking its herd.

In communist Cuba, only the state is allowed to slaughter cattle and sell the meat. Anyone who transports or sells a poached animal can get locked up for eight years.

When the cattle population declined and they became aware of the critical situation they were in, they decided to prohibit the slaughter of cattle and to criminalize the practice.

Unlike in India, which considers cow as ‘gomaatha’ and killed many for touching their holy cow, Cuba did it for a reason. While NDA banned cow slaughtering the communist party in India was conducting beef fests all over in India in protest. But they didn’t notice that even their mentor in communism- Cuba has banned beef.

It is really difficult to say who is influencing whom. But there is a subtle difference in the anti-beef campaign in India and in Myanmar. In India, the BJP government is seeking to ban consumption of beef and cow slaughter in many states.

But in Myanmar, the campaign is led by a powerful Buddhist nationalist Ma Ba Tha (or Association for the Protection of Race and Religion). For those not aware, this is a saffron organization of diehard Buddhist monks who believe Islam is threatening Myanmar’s Buddhism.

Unlike in India, the government is not stepping in with a legal ban. It is leaving it to the saffron storm troopers to enforce it.

Cattles are always held sacred by the Iranians. Cow slaughter is a crime deserving capital punishment among them. Many Iranian descendants understood this and start revering cows again and stop her slaughter.

So in every nation, the beef ban has a strong reason to tell us. Some are banning it to raise the number of cattle. Some others banned it but the government has not yet released any statement of banning beef all over the country.

The slaughter of livestock in Australia is subject to strict regulations which require animals to be killed as humanely as possible, and it’s the industry’s best interest to do so. In 2015, Market information and Livestock Australia conducted a survey and found that 170,000 cattle are being killed each week and the country is on track to kill nine million head for beef in 2015. Even though there are regulations, the country is supporting cattle slaughtering. The numbers show that beef farmers have been cashing in on high prices and selling their herds instead of rebuilding them.

There are people like Sue Surman who are fighting against this cattle slaughtering. Through her Social media pages, she is

registering her protest against cattle slaughtering. Not just cattle slaughtering, she is raising her voice against all kinds of atrocities against animals. There are millions of individuals like Sue Surman who are expressing their views against cow slaughtering through their social media pages.

In midst of these protests, we should think that through beef ban, the people who are suffering the most are those who are at the lower strata of our society. They can’t afford any protein rich, nutritious vegetables. So the best way to compensate these problems is by consuming meet. There are lots of people who are earning through cattle slaughter. When we are banning cattle slaughter, lakhs of people are losing their jobs. Those who are earning by selling its meet and those who are living by selling the skin of cow are the people who are suffering with these kinds of atrocities. The authorities didn’t think about them while imposing a ban on cow slaughter. They just think about that people who eats beef.

Government has no rights in telling us what we should eat. But they should have the responsibility to ensure that every citizen in their nation has adequate food to eat and what they are eating is nutritious.

They are failing in doing their duty, since they are showing much interest in things that they don’t want to bother about. If they are imposing a ban to raise the number of cattle, yes, we can’t say they have done something wrong. But the ban should be temporary. After crossing the expected number they should lift the ban.

Connecting cow with any religion is just a political game. If we want to connect cow with anything, then connect it with spiritual aspects. And the spiritual leaders will say why harming an animal is not agreeable. ‘Killing a poor animal who gives us milk and all those things through which we can earn a living is diabolic”. That will be their answer.