Haryana sets up animal welfare board to protect, preserve cows

Haryana is the land of milk and honey, boasting of its indigenous Murrah buffaloes that yield milk in huge quantities, and are always the winners in cattle shows in the state. But this breed of buffalos never had a separate board to oversee their growth, though the animal husbandry department did all it could to protect the breed.

Now, however, the Manohar Lal Khattar government in Haryana is officially going to protect the cow–and hopefully all cattle including the Murrah—in many ways, under the guise of animal welfare.

A state animal welfare board, under the chairmanship of the additional chief secretary of the animal husbandry and dairy development departments, was constituted on Monday in the state that is notorious for cow vigilantism.

The board is mandated to ensure proper implementation of Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act, 1960, the Punjab Prohibition of Cow Slaughter (Haryana Amendment) Act, 1980, and the Cattle Trespass Act, 1871.

A government notification said the board will also ensure implementation of other Acts or Regulations for animal welfare, applicable to the state of Haryana.

Interestingly, the board will organise and coordinate the activities of public cattle shelters—gaushalas and prinjrapoles—and salvage dry cattle, round up and rehabilitate stray cattle.

Preservation and development of cattle for increasing the production of milk, coordination and reviewing of various schemes relating to increasing production of feed and fodder, and rearing of calves will also be part of the activities of the board.

The board will periodically review the progress of schemes relating to preservation and development of cattle in the light of programme and policy laid down for the country.