who owns the cows

scotsman

there must be hundreds of thousands of wanering cows throughout indias citys. i walked by loads, eating and pooing in the middle of densely populated areas, all over the country... who owns the cows, and do cow owners make money by placing cows in the street?

someone enlighten me on when the cow first took the status it holds in hinduism and the reason for it being sacred?

edwardseco

Sounds like a bit of a troll. But, just try to run off with one and you will soon see the owner..

Haylo

A moderator on here once told me that elderly cows which can no longer give milk are can be abandoned in the city, despite being sacred.

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fsg

Haylo again disinformation. They are temple cows

In cities wandering cows dont exist, traffic disruption etc.

However in lesser urban areas,/ small towns where there are temples, cows are part of society.

People feed them, and they trundle down the road at exactly the same time of the day to eat the leftover veg/ rice water, and if the house owner has not got the goods ready, I have seen the cow go into the the house to demand.

Most of these cows go back to the temple to be milked, cared for and again the milk / curd feeds the poor

Haylo

Well, I have no direct experience of this, perhaps you have, but the person who told me that people sometimes abandon cows which are no longer productive has lived in India all his life, and I am inclined to believe him.

Also, on a previous thread about this, there was a link to a report about an organisation which is rescuing these cows and taking them to sanctuaries on the outskirts of the city.

If by "wandering cows" you mean cows walking the streets, they do exist both in Delhi generally and in Vasant Vihar specifically, where there are many, though they tend not to stand in the way of traffic most of the time.

roopeeman

Holy animal. Holy holy animal! Gods animal!

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g25_wheel

The cows which roam on the streets mostly belong to people who milk them and sell the milk. They leave them in the open to feed on organic waste etc, it works out cheaper for them than buying food for the cows. You can see these people taking the cows back in the evenings. The is a lot of demand for fresh milk, that is non packaged milk and these guys milk the cows and deliver the milk to households within minutes. So that explains why there are so many cows.

Once in a while you might also see abandoned old cows on the streets. I have see civic authorities in Mumbai ( Bombay )consficating the cows roaming on the streets by putting them on a vechile and taking them away, which means it must be illegal to leave them on the streets. I guess enforcement is not there in most of the cities for this rule. Not really sure why the cows are considered holy, but yeah people are pretty serious about it and if i remember correctly..cow slaughter is banned in most states.

Nick-H

Lots of cows exist in the city! They are no longer permitted in the central main streets --- but you may easily find them just one or streets away, and you will find them disturbing the traffic on main routes in and out of cities.

Similarly, bullock carts are restricted on certain main routes in the daytime

Cows are farmed, just like in many other places. g25_wheel has explained how.

They go to shops too, especially veg shops ---and are often shooed away!

Where I am, at least, the cows are not associated with temples, although, of course, I do not know all the temples or all the cows around here! I've certainly seen at least one temple with a cowshed, but I suspect that the reason is as much pragmatic as religious: temples must get through quite a lot of milk.

Hal

There were cows being kept on the median in the middle of the road across from the first hotel I stayed at in Hyderabad. This was right in the centre of town. Every morning their owner took them and a few buffalo down to the lake for a bath and some water. In the evenings they'd bring huge bags of greens and vegetable trimmings for them to eat. Or the cows would eat the paper signs off walls and posts.

palerider

I also saw the story of the sanctuary for sick and old cows in Delhi I thought.
The council were trying to take the cows secretly at night, but couldn't manage it.
Then this woman opened a sanctuary.

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jituyadav

1) Cows are left to wander by owners so that they don’t have to feed them. People give food to cows, they eat from the streets (including plastic bags, papers etc). They go back to the owner to feed the young ones and give milk. Cows are intelligent and no matter where you leave them they will reach back to the owners. Buffalos on the other hand are stupid and anybody can take them and milk them, that is why you will rarely find milk giving buffalos on street. This is also the reason cow’s milk is considered better...Unfortunately I only had buffalo milk throughout and that is my excuse...
2) Cows are left to fend for themselves when they are no more capable of giving milk.
3) Temple cows are rarely left in open as they have their own sheds.

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Hal

Off topic, but Brad is looking very grown up and quite intelligent, palerider.

edwardseco

In my area (Secunderabad) they serve to assist with the garbage collection in the nice neat concrete bins by the side of the road. At least they don't have Rabies.

I beg to differ on both accounts. Buffalo milk has 3 times the butterfat/litre and makes a great home made ice-cream. Everyone knows that people who love ice-cream are very intelligent. Ergo..

palerider

Thanks Hal, Brad's just had his nuts cut off, he's feeling a bit pissed off.
He's not sure what's missing, but he knows there was something there yesterday.
But he weighs 7.5 kilos now.
I've never had a small dog before, they're really sweet.
I think he'd be a snack for one of those cows. !!

scotsman

great... that milk must taste amazing, I do enjoy a good glass of milk
I have just had an epiphany... your strictly not allowed to touch the cows, but to milk them....... touch touch.. squeeze... holy milk