School going students are taught that cow is a herbivorous animal in the food chain chapter. This is a common perception too. But in this digital age, nothing is impossible. Not to talk of humans, animals are not far behind in changing colours like a chameleon and moving from their natural habits.
Cows turn meat lover
In a bizarre incident recently cows in Goa were found to be having non-vegetarian food. It’s strange, but it is undeniable cows love tender meat to eat. It seems cows are also following the path of humans and change their eating habits according to the availability of food. Overall, 76 cows were identified in the state, which had developed an affair with chicken and fried fish and turned carnivorous.
Non-veg easily available
These cows were discovered from Goa’s famous tourist locations like Calangute and Candolim. Non-vegetarian foods like chicken scraps, other animals meat and fried fish were readily available because leftovers from the restaurants were dumped here.
No interest in the natural diet
Goa’s Garbage Management Minister Michael Lobo said, ‘when they were kept in a cowshed then they did not show any interest in their natural diet. The managers of the cowshed later analysed these cows were fond of meat’.
Veterinarian to change the habit
The surprise change, like cows, amazed not only ordinary people, even the state government of Goa, is in great shock. Anxious officials roped in expert veterinarians to change the habit of such cows and make them vegetarian once again. The experts are working on war footing and assure that it would take at least four to five days to turn them into the vegetarian back.
A similar incident in WB
Although Goa’s episode hit the headlines and spread like wildfire across the country. But this is not the first incident, in West Bengal (WB) in 2007 almost the same thing happened. It was the story of Chandpur of North 24 Parganas district, where a family reared cows and chickens. Both were placed under the same shed. The rearing family one day noticed that counting of chickens had dropped.
Calves eat chicken
To know the reality, they planned to stand guard at night. Then members of the family saw an unusual happening from their naked eyes that calves had chicken alive.
Mineral deficiency motivates
Some of the veterinarians believe that lack of essential minerals in the body of the cows is the primary reason behind the shift of eating behaviour of the animal. Mineral deficiency may motivate a cow to change its habit. It is wrong to say that cows are a strictly vegetarian animal. When they graze in the field at that time, they don’t throw out insects instead consume worms and insects with the grass as well.
Common in the US
Come on the US dairy farmers regularly feed non-vegetarian food items to cows to increase production and get more nutritious produce from them. The American dairy is looking to Indian market for a long time because India has the largest population of cattle in the world. But late Sushma Swaraj once said it is not possible due to cultural differences between the two countries. In India, the cow is vegetarian; you feed your cow non-vegetarian foods. This news may give a ray of hope to the American dairy exporters to venture in India.
