Public Attitudes towards Cow Welfare and Cow Shelters (Gaushalas) in India

Abstract

Simple SummaryPublic attitudes towards cow welfare and cow shelters (locally known as gaushalas) in India have been little understood in the contemporary context; however, there is a plethora of historical accounts about the reverence of cows and existence of cow shelters in the Indian society. India faces an overpopulation of street cows, and the importance of the cow shelters to house these old, infertile and abandoned cows is of great interest. We conducted a survey of the attitudes of the Indian public towards cows and cow shelters in six states of India, where we found significant demographic differences in terms of age, gender, marital status, income levels, education levels, religion, level of religiosity, and place of residence. Key differences in the attitudes of the public towards cows and cow shelters across the demographic profiles delineated in this study were elucidated, which can be incorporated into initiatives to improve cow welfare in shelters. This will strengthen public engagement to successfully manage these cow shelters using modern scientific concepts of animal welfare-based management in order to perpetuate these unique institutions in a sustainable way.AbstractPublic attitudes towards cows and cow shelters in India need to be assessed in the contemporary context, as India is facing an overpopulation of street cows, leading to traffic hazards, public health issues, and pollution. We investigated the attitudes of the general public in India towards cow welfare in general and cow shelters (gaushalas) in particular. Eight hundred and twenty-five members of the public, residing in the vicinity of 54 cow shelters, were interviewed for this purpose. Their perception of animal welfare centred on animal care, cows as goddesses and mothers, and doing things properly. More than half visited a shelter daily for religious reasons. Most believed that cow shelters were the best way to manage the stray cow population and felt a community responsibility towards all breeds of cows for animal welfare reasons. Space availability for the cows was the key welfare issue voiced. Older people were more likely to identify animal welfare and culture as the main reason for sheltering cows. Better educated, wealthier, and more religious people visited the shelters most, rating religion and breeding higher as the shelter’s main purpose. Males favoured indigenous cow breeds more than females. Village respondents were more likely to consider the facilities adequate compared with country town and urban respondents. In contrast to married respondents, single people were more likely to say that they visited for leisure rather than for religious purposes. The survey indicated that the Indian community was generally supportive of cow sheltering and that visits to the shelters helped them to know that unwanted cattle were being well cared for.

International perceptions of animals and the importance of their welfare

“…Considering species specific findings, the welfare of dogs and cattle were considered the most important, below that of humans. Cattle are spiritually revered in India, receiving highly positive perceptions, legislative protection and religious protection to the point of political contention (Sharma et al, 2019). Despite this, cattle face many welfare challenges in India, including within cow rescue shelters (Gaushalas) (Sharma et al, 2020).…”

The Management of Cow Shelters (Gaushalas) in India, Including the Attitudes of Shelter Managers to Cow Welfare

“…Human ethics approval for this study was provided by the University of Queensland's Human Ethics Committee (approval number 2016001243). Interviews were conducted with shelter managers between November 2016 and July 2017, as a part of a welfare assessment of cows in shelters in six states of India (Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh) [30]. These states were selected on the basis of having the largest concentration of shelters in India and a tradition of sheltering cows (Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Punjab and Haryana) and one state (Himachal Pradesh), which was actively establishing cow shelters to tackle the stray cattle problem ( Figure 1).…”

“…As well, managing cow shelters is clearly a male-dominated profession, to add to the great imbalance in favour of male workers employed in the shelters. In a recent study on public attitudes towards cow shelters, males were more likely to credit shelters as being of religious importance [30]. Traditionally, decision making and managerial roles have been either denied or constrained for women in the animal husbandry sector in India due to the paternalistic bias of Indian society [32].…”

Living waste, living on waste: A bioeconomy of urban cows in Delhi

“…In 2002, according to a Report of the National Commission on Cattle, there were 3000 gaushalas in India homing around 600,000 cattle. Today, the AWBI funds 1837 affiliated gaushalas (Sharma et al, 2019). Traditionally, gaushalas have relied on charitable donations, but many receive significant funding from the State.…”