What is it about?
In Nepal, a predominantly Hindu country, most communities consider the cow as a sacred animal leading to their special place in society. However, male calves are neglected because of their limited utility in the context of religiously restricted beef consumption. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among the dairy farmers of Chitwan district in the central region of Nepal to understand the rearing practices of dairy calves and the associated animal welfare concerns. A majority of the producers (70%) that participated in the survey reared female calves to be replacement dairy animals and hence were fed and managed properly on the farm. Male calves, however, were vulnerable to indiscriminate removal following non-humane methods. Surprisingly, about half of the survey participants declined to respond about the fate of male dairy calves. But about 20% of the participants admitted to starving male calves by feed withdrawal, and another 20% of respondents chased the male calves away from the farm to live as stray animals. Therefore, the religious, sentimental, economic, and ethical analysis of the welfare situation needs to be assessed in a broader context and a sustainable policy needs to be implemented to change the overall attitude of the farmers towards male dairy calves.
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Why is it important?
Our results, for the first time, demonstrate the engrained malpractices of rearing male calves born to dairy cattle in Hindu-major country where consumption or trade of beef is a taboo. The abuse of male calves, identified in this study, reflects the "dirty-secret" of the overall dairy industry in Nepal. Such critical observations of this study warrants immediate attention of stakeholders and a more detailed cross-cultural investigation of welfare status of dairy calves in Nepal.
Perspectives
This research was conducted during my internship at the vet school in 2015 so, it has been a long-time coming. Publishing this article has challenged the moral cores of the authors since the article reveals the "dirty-secret" of dairy farming in Nepalese society; however, it has been satisfying to finally have this article out for the greater good. We all hope that this gets the attention of all stakeholders and policymakers to change the future of the dairy industry.
Nirvay Sah
Texas A&M University College Station
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Animal Welfare Issues Associated with Rearing Dairy Calves in Nepalese Context, Journal of Applied Animal Ethics Research, October 2022, Brill,
DOI: 10.1163/25889567-bja10029.
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