Amravati shelters seek govt help to feed cattle smuggled from MP

NAGPUR: Facing a shortage of fodder due to the dry spell, gorakshan sansthas (private cow shelters) are finding it tough to feed cattle heads seized from alleged beef traders.


Vehicles carrying cattle from Madhya Pradesh are regularly intercepted by the police in Amravati district, situated along the inter-state border.

This has led to a huge influx of cattle at the private shelters here, with some putting the number over 7,000.

The fodder shortage has led to the shelters in Amravati district sending a SOS to the state department of animal husbandry, to provide fodder to the teeming herds coming from the neighbouring state. A representation has also been sent to the department seeking help, by framing rules on handling such unclaimed cattle at the cow shelters.

Sources in the cow shelters at Amravati said the cattle being smuggled from Chhindwara and Betul districts of Madhya Pradesh usually land up here, leading to overpopulation. Lately, the numbers have gone up beyond manageable levels.

A senior official in the animal husbandry department confirmed that a request has been received through Amravati district collectorate, seeking help with the increasing number of cattle being smuggled out of Madhya Pradesh. District collector Shailesh Nawal told TOI his office had received a request from the cow shelters in the district demanding government norms for handling unclaimed cattle at shelters.

Despite orders by the court the original owners do not turn up to take back the seized cattle, leaving the cow shelters over crowded. The cattle are seized during illegal transportation, he said. Sunil Suryavanshi of Maharashtra Goshala Sangh said the shelters in Amravati district end up with a huge number of cattle being brought from Madhya Pradesh.

He said beef traders buy cattle from villages in Madhya Pradesh and smuggle the animals to Telangana through Amravati and Yavatmal in Vidarbha . There are pockets in Amravati where illegal slaughter too takes place, said Suryavanshi.

There are more than 50 voluntary cow shelters in the district with as many as 7,000 non-milching cattle heads. Fodder is easily available after monsoons in the open grazing lands. However, in summer, especially when there is a shortage, those running the cow shelters are barely managing to arrange for fodder and water. Considering the situation, there is a demand that the government set up fodder depots run through the state revenue department.

JP Rathi, former president of Gorakshan Sanstha, Amravati, said there are as many as 100 oxen in the shelter run by his organization alone, apart from around 300 cows. It’s getting tough day by day to arrange fodder for the animals and there has been no response on the request sent to the department.