If you thought that only the ready-to-die or udder-dry cattle are sold away to slaughterhouses, think again.
The Chittoor taluk police recently seized a truckload of cattle, which included 12 precious Ongole bulls and 18 buffaloes. The ‘consignment’ was proceeding from Mydukur in Kadapa district to Kerala, when it was intercepted by the police on suspicion. Upon instructions from the Society for Prevention of Cruelty towards Animals (SPCA), the bulls were shifted to Sri Padmavathi Gosala in Tiruchanur, run by Sri Radha Govinda Goraksha Samithi Trust.
Each bull measured around 7 ft tall and weighed 500 kg. It was learnt that the bulls were meant to be slaughtered in Kerala and the beef exported to Gulf countries for a princely sum. “Each bull is bought for ₹1 lakh and the beef is packed in 5 kg tins costing ₹9,400 each. The high price is said to be due to the delectable taste,” says A.V. Krishna Rao, secretary of the goshala, who is also associated with the activities of Animal Welfare Board of India. Its hide priced at ₹ 60,000 is a most-sought-after by the leather industry. The variety is not only rare and endemic to the State, but also faces the threat of extinction. When efforts are being made on the one hand to safeguard the native breeds, they are sold away for a price on the other, with utter disregard to the future, Mr. Rao regretted. Animal activists expressed concern over the blatant violation of rules in transporting such rare species for the sake of its meat and suspect the role of an organised mafia behind the illegal ferrying.
