The state government decision of a ban on slaughtering unproductive bulls and oxen has brought down their prices drastically.
The state government decision of a ban on slaughtering unproductive bulls and oxen has brought down their prices drastically.
According to farmers, after the ban, butchers are no more buying their old and unproductive livestock. "In the open market too, no one is coming forward to buy these animals. We are really confused as to what to do with them. We urgently need to sell our old livestock and buy new ones. But that remains a dream now," said Anil Wankhede from Dhule.
Wankhede said that the government decision has disturbed the rural economy. "The government had said they would buy these animals. But I do not know where they are buying them. They do not seem to have such a mechanism at the ground level. I cannot keep these animals. It is financially impossible. It costs Rs6,000 per month to rear one animal. This is an anti-farmer decision just to please another community," he said.
Shekhar Dongare, a farmer from Ahmadnagar, told dna that butchers are afraid to buy these animals because of the penalty and imprisonment imposed. "This decision will put a lot of financial burden on farmers. When these animals die, who will dispose them? That's a big question too. And abandoned livestock will be a big nuisance like stray dogs.
It will destroy our economy. We are already facing water shortage; keeping and nurturing these unproductive animals is not possible. No one will buy new cows now and this will have an effect on the agriculture sector. If there are no cows, then from where will we get the bulls for cultivating and sowing," asked Dongare.
Raju Shetty, MP and president of Swamimani Shetkari Sangathana, has threatened that they would start a protest against the government decision.
"We have decided to collect all the unproductive bulls and oxen and take them to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis' bungalow Varsha at Malabar Hill. Let the affluent people in Mumbai who are batting for the protection of these animals keep these livestock in their posh and luxurious apartments. Only then will they realise what effort it takes to keep such animals. These people have taken an anti-farmer decision by sitting in air-conditioned cabins and houses," said Nanasaheb Patil, a farmer leader.
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