Jallikattu- Game, Sport or a Breeding Science. An Analysis

[Rajaraja Chola]

This is a topic, where our own fellow Indians, even city bred Tamilians have less knowledge on, parroting what western based NGO's are preaching us. I have started this thread under Science and Technology. The question is going to remain. Why? Jallikattu was never an Science. Its an game, and dangerous, cruel and old stupid game at that, according to some.

We have to look and analyse at ourselves. Not all the NGO's are evil as we will like to potray. Some wants specific rules to protect the Bulls and the players. We can call that natural evolution of the "game of Jallikattu". But stopping the game, hampers the prospects of evolution.

Some NGO's like PeTA have been virtually unsuccessful in banning horse races. I doubt if they even try. And they are not going to get "donations" for trying to ban something that is "not within their scope". Race horses bring in crores in betting and they eventually turn an blind eye to it. I cannot see PeTA in Kerala, trying to halt Bull slaughter. I cannot see them stopping Spain in banning their even more crude version of the game, hurting and killing the bull.

Jallikattu, the video is a short view of the farmers side of this ancient game. The name of Jallikattu is a recent one. The original name is "Eru Thazhuvuthal", meaning "Riding with the Bull" or "Embracing the bull". The Science behind it is, if the Bull is strong enough, it can carry 2-3 people on its hump to a distance of 100 metres. It becomes the Breeding bull of the village. Its progeny can be strong, virile, and can give more milk(if its a cow). The Bulls that loses are sent to farming and transportation and are not involved in breeding. This in effect, is the theory of the fittest, practised from time immorial.

Does Tamilians alone boasts to having this type of tests in selection? Wrong. Karnataka has it. Maharastra has it. Madhya Pradesh has it in their own ways of rock pulling, bullock cart races and other games. And they have all been targeted and banned. The farmers are the poor folks. How can they be expected to present their views in New Delhi when they cannot even afford to travel to Chennai? The NGO's can very well afford these.

This is a whole new industry planned to be replaced by foreign cows. Foreign brands like Jerseys, Holstein Fersian cross have taken over Northern part of India, replacing the indigenous brands. In 1930's, the nation of British India, had 130 versions of Indigenous breeds now reduced to 37. Tamil Nadu which had 6 major breeds, now has only 5.

Farmers now employing foreign breeds are facing exhorbitant costs for maintaining their cows. Indian cows might be low yielding, but low maintainance and do not require climate controlled environment. Educated people have reverted back to using Indigenous breeds as they provide more profit per costs.

Indians have failed themselves when we come to know that Gir cow breed of extremely low maintainance, native to Gujarat, has some 3000 herds left in India, while Brazil has approximately 50000 herds. Gir herds are exported throughout the world through Brazil to Australia, to Middle east, to Sub-Saharan Africa.

Losing our own breeds of animals to foreign ones, are akin to becoming refugees in our own country. Foreign cows cannot reproduce after 3-4 generations, after which artificial insemination, its feed, climate has to be created, which in short is nothing but business for western interests. We cannot be made abjected to slavery of our own folly.

I will be adding links to prove my theory. The video is in Tamil, and subtitle is available for understanding. Click on the subtitle option. The basic attempt is to educate, not only my fellow Indians, but neighbours, the importance of losing indigenous breeds. Awareness is needed. If Jallikattu is allowed to be die, and so will be the all varieties of indigenous breeds. Already Indian breeds of dogs, which are very low maintainance have disappeared from Indian homes. Next on the list are cows and unless we get our act together, its going to be glim future for Indian farmers.

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[DesiGuy1403]

Anything Hindu is regressive and oppressive.

Bakrid where you kill millions of animals is never an issue with the same people, go figure.

 

[Rajaraja Chola]

Banning Jallikattu Will Decimate India’s Indigenous Cattle Breeds

http://thewire.in/19157/banning-jallikattu-will-decimate-indias-indigenous-cattle-breeds/

Imagine this scene a few thousand years ago in the Indus Valley region. A group of herders out grazing a few hundred cattle, enjoying the warm sun on their backs with the occasional cry of a calf seeking its mother and the mother guiding it. The whole herd is on the move as the lazy day passes by.

Suddenly a bull decides to run astray. With wild animals lurking, there is the danger of the herd breaking up into smaller groups. A young herder emerges and chases the bull. Bulls being males high on testosterone run quite fast and finally the herder catches up with it. He lunges forward and holds onto the hump of the bull. The hump is a unique feature of Bos Indicus cattle. He manages to hold onto the hump, slowing the bull down and finally stopping it. He leads it back to the herd and the group continues, while showering praises on the young herder for catching the bull.

Now imagine this scene repeated on a daily basis and the herders sharing the story with the villagers when they pen the cattle for the night. Over time, the skill of embracing the hump to slow the bull down is celebrated and contests are held to showcase the skill. This is called Eru Thazhuvuthalmeaning ‘Embracing a Bull’. Indus Valley civilisation is known for being one of the most advanced and sophisticated amongst its contemporaries. The sport of Eru Thazhuvathal is celebrated so much that they decide to make a seal depicting the same.

During the rule of the Nayak kings, gold coins, wrapped in a piece of cloth were tied to the horns, and the tackler hung on to the hump of the bull and untied the knot to get at the prize. Jalli/salli means ‘coins’, and kattu is ‘tied’. A small bag of coins was tied to the horns of the bulls, which the players claimed as a prize. The only way you could do that was to embrace the hump of the bull long enough to grab the bag without getting hit.

Now a token cloth is tied in the horns which the tackler collects as a trophy. The focal point of the event is the vaadi vaasal, the entrance. The bulls are let through this entrance, into the track, where the players wait. The track is usually the main street of the village, with the side lanes blocked. The event begins with the visit of village elders, led by a band drummer, to the temple of the village deity. The Koyil Kaalai (temple bull) of the host village is allowed first andm as a mark of respect and gratitude to the host village, players allow it a free run and don’t touch it. Today, educated youngsters from these villages are also involved in the rearing of bulls and participate in the sport. All classes of people and all castes take part in Jallikattu. There is an egalitarian perspective where it’s humans and their cattle, nothing more nothing less.

An ancient heritage that survived colonial period

Jallikattu is an ancient sport. The seals of the Indus Valley civilisation depict it, which is proof that this sport was in vogue 5,000 years ago. Ancient Tamil poetry, known as Sangam literature (2nd BCE – 2nd CE), has many detailed references to Eru Thazhuvuthal (hugging the bull).

The fact that English colonial administrators have also written about jallikattu tells us the sport was played continuously down the ages.

For the following account of the jellikattu or bull-baiting, which is practiced by the Maravans, I am indebted to a note by Mr. J. H. Nelson. “This,” he writes, “is a game worthy of a bold and free people, and it is to be regretted that certain Collectors (District Magistrates) should have discouraged it under the idea that it was somewhat dangerous.

The jellikattu is conducted in the following manner. On a certain day in the year, large crowds of people, chiefly males, assemble together in the morning in some extensive open space, the dry bed of a river perhaps, or of a tank (pond), and many of them may be seen leading ploughing bullocks, of which the sleek bodies and rather wicked eyes afford clear evidence of the extra diet they have received for some days in anticipation of the great event.

The owners of these animals soon begin to brag of their strength and speed, and to challenge all and any to catch and hold them; and in a short time one of the best beasts is selected to open the day’s proceedings. A new cloth is made fast round his horns, to be the prize of his captor, and he is then led out into the midst of the arena by his owner, and there left to himself surrounded by a throng of shouting and excited strangers.

Unaccustomed to this sort of treatment, and excited by the gestures of those who have undertaken to catch him, the bullock usually lowers his head at once, and charges wildly into the midst of the crowd, who nimbly run off on either side to make way for him. His speed being much greater than that of the men, he soon overtakes one of his enemies and makes at him to toss him savagely. Upon this the man drops on the sand like a stone, and the bullock, instead of goring him, leaps over his body, and rushes after another. The second man drops in his turn, and is passed like the first; and, after repeating this operation several times, the beast either succeeds in breaking the ring, and galloping off to his village, charging every person he meets on the way, or is at last caught and held by the most vigorous of his pursuers.

Strange as it may seem, the bullocks never by any chance toss or gore any one who throws himself down on their approach; and the only danger arises from their accidentally reaching unseen and unheard some one who remains standing.

After the first two or three animals have been let loose one after the other, two or three, or even half a dozen are let loose at a time, and the scene quickly becomes most exciting. The crowd sways violently to and fro in various directions in frantic efforts to escape being knocked over; the air is filled with shouts, screams, and laughter; and the bullocks thunder over the plain as fiercely as if blood and slaughter were their sole occupation. In this way perhaps two or three hundred animals are run in the course of a day, and, when all go home towards evening, a few cuts and bruises, borne with the utmost cheerfulness, are the only results of an amusement which requires great courage and agility on the part of the competitors for the prizes – that is for the cloths and other things tied to the bullocks’ horns – and not a little on the part of the mere bystanders. The only time I saw this sport (from a place of safety) I was highly delighted with the entertainment, and no accident occurred to mar my pleasure. One man indeed was slightly wounded in the buttock, but he was quite able to walk, and seemed to be as happy as his friends.”

(From Edgar Thurston, Castes & Tribes of Southern India,Vol 5.)

This is concrete evidence to prove that jallikattu has been part of the long heritage of the country. One strong characteristic of life in India is the persistence of certain social institutions, the origins of which are lost in pre-history. Though the profile of these practices change, they retain their essential features. Jallikattu is one such precious heritage that has been preserved over millennia and our duty is to take this forward. Of course we should have rules and restrictions for the conduct of the event but Jallikattu should go on.

Native breeds as a factor

There were 130 or so cattle breeds in India 100 years ago and now there are only 37. Unless we engage with the traditional livestock keepers and support them, we will lose these breeds as well as lay the ground for commercial cattle based dairies and slaughter houses to dominate the country

Tamil Nadu had six cattle breeds earlier and now we have lost the Alambadi breed. The remaining breeds are Kangayam, Pulikulam, Umbalachery, Barugur and Malai Maadu. There are a few more minor breeds without proper documentation or care. Most of these are on the verge of extinction. Each breed has evolved in perfect harmony with its local region. Kangayams fed on grasses in the calcium rich soil are the sturdiest animals and can pull up to 2.5 times their body weight with ease. Umbalacherys have shorter legs which make it easy for them to walk around in the water filled fields of the delta region. Barugurs in the hills of Erode district and Malai Maadus in Theni district are grazed in reserve forests and are adept at walking around in hilly terrain. The Pulikulam, found mostly in the region around Madurai, Sivaganga, Ramnad, Pudukottai and parts of Tiruchi district are herded in several hundreds and walk all day grazing before being penned for the night.


Pulikulam. Credit: ICAR

Native cattle have evolved over millennia, adapting to the local environmental conditions. They are an integral part of farming, especially for small and marginal farmers as they serve multiple purposes like ploughing, transportation, source for farmyard manure, organic treatments like panchagavya, jeevamritham, and as a source of A2 milk. The native cattle are both an input as well as insurance to the livestock keepers. In ancient Tamil and Sanskrit literature, cattle is considered as wealth. Cattle were measured as a unit of wealth. In the Tirukkural, education is considered to be wealth and the word used for wealth is madu, meaning cattle. So it has a socio-cultural connotation which denotes lives and livestock having co-existed and cultures having coined usages around them.

The Pulikulam is a semi-domesticated breed. The bulls are known to attack anyone except their owners. They are mainly grazed in reserve forest lands. Herders need to be able to tame them without ropes as the nose ropes are removed while grazing.

How does one tame a bull without ropes? If you try to tackle it from the front, it will toss you with its horns; if you try to catch it from the back, it will kick with its legs. It’s also very agile and can turn around in a split second. The only option is to approach it from the side and grab the hump.

Why Jallikattu matters

Stud bulls are reared by people for jallikattu. The ones that win are much in demand for servicing the cows. Small farmers cannot afford to keep stud bulls, so each village has a common temple bull which services the cows of the village. Jallikattu is the show where bulls are brought and exhibited. The ones which are most agile (and virile) are preferred by farmers. The calves from such bulls are in demand.

The intricate connect between these events and farming can be seen from the chronological order in which showcase events like jallikattu happen first, then the shandies and then the main farming season starts. Once harvest is done, farmers take their bulls to participate in such events over the next few months; spectators and visitors make a note of the top bulls and seek them out in sandhais (cattle shandies/markets) which happen from December till April all over Tamil Nadu. The calves and bulls are bought for jallikattu and some of their offspring will be castrated and used as draught animals in transport/farming.

Stud bulls need to be alert, virile, and agile. In the peak of their reproductive period, they need to secrete the necessary male hormones and experience adrenalin rushes and pumping hearts. They need this for them to be virile. This is in the interest of the species as selective breeding is done to propagate the species. Stud bulls are used for jallikattu and mating only. Experienced bulls enjoy the situation and display a well thought out exit from the vaadi vaasal. Many of them show off by shaking their heads as a warning. This shows their familiarity with the Jallikattu event.

Many people who care for animals don’t understand that nature creates each species with unique characteristics and behaviour, and that within a species, a bull, an ox, a cow and calf all are different.

Male calves in other regions are sold and taken for slaughter in a few days. Only in regions where there are events like jallikattu are they kept. The owner of an imported cow will like it to deliver a female calf. If she does, it’s a windfall. If it’s a male calf then he will have no use for it and he has to feed it. It will go to the slaughter house for Rs. 500. A lot of mutton we eat is the meat of these under-one-week calves mixed with mutton. The same will happen to these native breeds if not for activities like jallikattu. With reduced availability of males, farmers will have to go in for artificial insemination, which is cost prohibitive and is directly in contravention of in-situ conservation. Unless there are bulls being bred and reared in the in-situ region, the genetic pool of the breed will not be healthy as no adaptation to changes in climate, local environment has been ingrained. We are messing with evolution when we abandon in-situ conservation with bulls and natural servicing/mating.

Native cows do not yield as much milk as the imported breeds. So they don’t have a supportive or sponsored breeding programme. Artificial means are not adopted for native breeds. So as a fall out of the banning of jallikattu, they will soon fade away and become extinct.


Death of a temple bull covers the village in a pall of gloom. The funeral is conducted with utmost respect with women mourning and village priests carrying out rituals.

Under article 48 of the constitution of India the state has to endeavour to preserve and improve the breeds and prevent slaughter of cows and calves and other draught and milk cattle. Hence the Union government has to intervene in this issue.

According to principles 1, 2 & 3 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), to which India is a signatory state, livestock keepers are creators of breeds and custodians of animal genetic resources for food and agriculture; livestock keepers and the sustainable use of traditional breeds are dependent on the conservation of their respective ecosystems; traditional breeds represent collective property, they are the products of indigenous knowledge and the cultural expression of livestock keepers.

Why is there so much opposition to jallikattu?

There are two angles to the opposition.

First is the urban disconnect with rural India and all that it entails. Policies are made by city folk. Just as we destroyed the lakes of Chennai and suffered the consequences of ignoring the traditional knowledge of villagers in building and maintaining water bodies, we are allowing the same urban mindset to get away with rampant destruction of our livestock and farming. If we look at media reports over the last decade or so, every headline screams about injuries in a jallikattu event. The focus of the urban editors and reporters has always been on sensationalising news and grabbing eyeballs. Fed with this constant diet over a decade, it’s no surprise that so many internet warriors are shouting about jallikattu.

In a year, there are 10,000 instances of a bull leaving the vaadi vaasal (gate) during jallikattu. Of the thousands of players who take part, hardly 50-100 get injured in a year, and deaths are much much less.

The second group is the dairy lobby, which wants all native breeds to be eradicated. Events like jallikattu throw a spanner in their plans of creating commercial dairy farms with imported breeds just like in the West.

Beef exporters also benefit from a ban on jallikattu and other events. Farmers bring their cattle to be sold in weekly/monthly and annual shandies. Brokers will take the cattle from the farmers and hold them to be displayed to prospective buyers. Buyers fall into 3-4 categories: (1) The jallikattu enthusiast who will buy the bulls and male calves mostly; (2) Buyers of oxen for farming/transport; (3) Buyers of cows for breeding and household usage; (4) Beef traders who are mostly if not all agents of export companies and slaughter houses based in Kerala. They buy all cattle as they are only interested in meat.

When a ban on jallikattu is in place, the simple supply-demand equation gets skewed. There are no takers in the first category, which means the bulls will only sought by the fourth category i.e. beef traders. With no demand from jallikattu enthusiasts, the price of such prized bulls falls to rock bottom. By killing the market for bulls to be used in jallikattu, the animal rights activists are directly responsible for sending them to slaughter. There is a huge demand for Bos Indicusvariety beef in the Gulf, Malaysia and Western countries. It is considered an exotic and healthy meat, just like country chicken.

Misconceptions abound

The fist misconception is that jallikattu has anything in common with the Spanish bullfight. The two are very different. The sport in India is not about baiting or injuring the bull but of “embracing the bull”.

Does it harm the bull?

It is said that cruelty is meted out to animals by giving them alcohol, prodding and twisting their tails etc, that organisers beat the bulls, stuffing something pungent in their nostrils, confine them in a dark, suffocating place in order to enrage them.

The reality is different. Amidst all the regulations and scrutiny, which bull owner will risk giving alcohol to the bulls? Glucose water is given to them for stamina. Out of the 10,000 instances of bulls let out a year, the anti-jallikattu activists have produced images/videos of may be 7-8 bulls where an offence might have taken place. They have the power to identify the owner and take action against him under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. Each bull is registered with the authorities, with photographs as well as the owner’s information.

Every rule has an exception. We regulate to curtail the exceptions, but not to end the sport. The approach of the activists from day one has been to end jallikattu at any cost.

Are there other means of conserving the breeds?

Each breed has evolved over several millennia and in a distinct way. One method of breed conservation will not work in another area, with another breed. Every place in the world where indigenous people have lived with their livestock, there are celebratory showcase events post-harvest like kambala buffalo water racing in the Dakshin Kannada region, Ongole stone pulling in central and coastal Andhra, rekla races in western Tamil Nadu and Theni, bailgada in Maharashtra with the Killari breed. Each event has evolved locally and has stood the test of time. In-situ conservation is the best method for conserving any breed. The lifetime and health of the species is extended only due to such events.

How is the game played?

Bulls are brought to the arena the previous day and tied in coconut groves around the village. Fodder is brought along and water is provided by the host villagers. Sometimes fodder is also provided. A team of veterinarians, animal welfare officials inspect the bulls and give a medical certificate. Before the event starts, they are lined up in batches of 15 close to the rear side of the vaadi vaasal.


A bull waits its turn at the gate to the Palamedu jallikattu in Madurai. Credit: Manu Manohar/Flickr CC 2.0

After the temple bull of the host village has left the arena, each bull is taken into the vaadi vaasal, where Animal Welfare officers are present. The nose rope of the bull is cut and the bull is free to run. Young bulls and untrained ones participating for the first few times hesitate to leave the vaadi and are prodded by their owners. It is not easy to move them as they weigh anywhere between 250-350 kilos. The experienced bulls (which have long memories) are familiar with jallikattu events and offer their head to the owners to cut the rope. They plan their exit from the vaadi vaasal and time their jump to avoid the players. These are intelligent animals and have evolved in this environment over millennia.


This bull cannot be caught as he has perfectly timed his jump to reach a height of 8-10 feet and will land a good 10-12 feet away from the vaadi vaasal. By the time he lands, he would have cleared most of the players. Credit: Special Arrangement

The sport consists of holding on to the hump of the bull and running along with it for a given distance usually about 20-30 meters which is covered in barely 10-20 seconds.


This bull used a different technique of charging while jumping. Notice how that has put fear into the players. with their eyes closed. Credit: Special Arrangement

Although a few hundred players are present in the arena, only 2-3 attempt to get close to the bull and only 1 has a shot at grabbing the hump. Everything happens so fast that most players hit the dirt and the bulls go free.


The bulls are not in fear, but the players are. Credit: Special Arrangement

After leaving the arena, they go to a barricaded collection area of about 44,000 sq. ft. where experienced herders await the owners. Owners follow the bulls from the vaadi into the collection arena, this takes about 5-10 minutes. Once they enter, the herders help the owners rope in the bulls and take them out of the collection arena. 1-2 bulls will refuse to be roped and charge at everyone, some of them jump out of the collection area and make a run for it. Most of them head in the direction of their villages. There is the occasional injury due to the bulls not being roped.

A ban will be fatal

Under the Convention on Biological Diversity and heritage status practices worldwide, it is customary that these ancient traditional practices are left as they are but with rules to organise and regulate them.

If jallikattu is banned, livestock keepers will be forced to abandon the raising of native livestock, which already stands threatened due to the extensive use of motor pumps, tractors and mechanised agriculture. If the sport is banned, it would be the death knell of native cattle species in Tamil Nadu.

We will not only lose our breeds but also our self-sufficiency in milk production as well as promotion of organic farming. If we lose our breeds and import foreign breeds, multinational commercial companies will dominate the dairy industry in India. The livelihood of millions in rural India is at stake here.

People who want a ban on jallikattu are far removed from village life and do not know how this chain works.

The Supreme Court and the Government of India needs to look at the big picture behind jallikattu. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) supports traditional practices to keep the chain intact and thus enable conservation of native breeds. As an ancient nation with an ancient practice going back millennia, jallikattu should be preserved. There is no torture of any animal of any sort that takes place during the sport and the evidence of this can be seen from live media telecasts. The time a bull spends engaged in the sport is less than 30 seconds. If required, rules can be implemented to enhance the safety of the animals and men if required.

India has already lost many cattle breeds and it can’t afford to lose any more.





Holy cow! Gir gai goes global via Brazil

(RAJKOT): Given that the Gir cow is indigenous to Gujarat, local business should have been milking it to earn foreign exchange. But it seems far away Brazil is doing a better of this.

The South American country today has around 50 lakh heads of this unique breed known for high milk production. Gujarat is estimated to have only around 3,000 pure breed Gir cows left, according to Satyajit Khachar, scion of the erstwhile princely state of Jasdan and a known breeder of the cow.


And now, the Gir breed is set to go global. As Khachar puts it, "Brazil has emerged as the world's biggest supplier of improved cattle embryos and semen of Indian origin, now rated among the best dairy breeds in the world. The demand is particularly high from African and Southeast Asian countries. The Indian 'holy cow' has turned out to be a great money-spinner for Brazil."




According to Khachar, the focus of the dairy industry in Gujarat was on buffalo milk because of its fat content. So the Gir breed was neglected, resulting in the dwindling of both its numbers and pedigree.




Only recently, two containers with embryos of the breed were flown to Brazil to improve the stock of cows there. The embryos were developed in a laboratory in Bhavnagar which has been funded at a cost of Rs 2 crore by cattle breeders of Brazil.




"The last major export of the breed to Brazil took place in 1960, after which laws made import and export of animals difficult. The South American country has taken very good care of the breed, but they need fresh blood every three to four generations because of which the embryos were flown there," says Khachar.



The Bhavnagar laboratory was set up in 2001. Khachar is exporting the embryos in partnership with a Brazilian firm. In Brazil, the Indian cows are known as the Zebu breed. Brazilian farmers first shipped three cattle breeds from India - Gir and Kankrej from Gujarat and Ongole from Andhra Pradesh, in 1850. These breeds were essentially for use in agriculture and for beef. But they soon found out that Gir cow gave large quantities of milk. Interestingly, pedigreed Gir cows in Brazil get the Pure Origin India (POI) tag. Each animal's pedigree and DNA is registered with Association of Brazilin Zebu Breeders, an apex body.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...oes-global-via-Brazil/articleshow/6633109.cms

 

[Nilgiri]

Yet another example of leftism's desire to turn the whole world into a culture-less bland mix of totaly "equal" and homogeneous clones. To rid the world of poverty, ignorance and depravity.....their answer is to strip it of wealth, knowledge and virtue!

These agents operate through NGOs and have deluded many Indians into joining their foul cause. Jallikatu is just one example.

We must rise up and fight for our rights and our culture that our ancestors strove so hard and shed blood to preserve! So many of us meekly hand it over or disown it in the name of "progress" without actually stopping to think for one serious moment in our lives about what the truth actually may be and to seek it out! Truth is the ultimate quest...and to dishonour that is the most single vile thing a Human being can do to himself/herself....and its nothing short of a genocide when that is not enough and it is expanded in smothering other people's truth quest without giving them a chance!

Fight back those of you that have honour left in you....even if it seems a doomed cause....do not submit to the treachery and lies!

 

[Rajaraja Chola]

YAP Proposal #7: “Climate Resilient Indian Cattle” (Nikki Pilania Chaudhary, India)
Posted on February 20, 2016 by Admin

Development of climate resilient Indian cattle: the future of Indian dairy

What stops me from advising a small farmer to buy country’s highest milk yielding cow and widely perceived to be essential for success in dairy- the exotic cows such as Holstein Friesian?

While these exotic cows can give milk yield of 30 to 35 litres per day and thought to be very suitable and profitable breed for commercial dairying then what makes farmers talking among themselves that dairy is not profitable? Why the newcomers are often told that dairy is a very risky business or why profits are always looked for in higher milk prices and not in reduced per litre cost of production and why despite spending so heavily on dairy infrastructure, feed, fodder and breeding the so admired highest milk yielder “exotic cows”, we see most of the commercial dairy farms in India are not doing well at all.

Nikki Pilania Chaudhary
I, Nikki Pilania Chaudhary, 28 years old female, (postgraduate in MSc Business Economics and Finance from University of Surrey London, 2008) am involved in dairy farming since 2011 at our family farm in rural part of North West Indian State Uttar Pradesh.

I manage our dairy unit of 50 exotic – HF and Jersey Cross cows. We, at our farm, have built a modern dairy shed comprising of fans, foggers, automatic milking unit and all other facilities for efficient operations. Our dairy is considered to be amongst the best dairy farm in our state for having a good infrastructure, well bred high yield cows and good management practices. It is earning reasonable returns, then why is it that I am not contented and do not see these cows sustainable or our country’s future.

Holstien Friesian Cross is not a solution for dairy farming in India

The answer is simple because I have to think hundred times before recommending a small or medium farmer to buy these exotic high yielders.

I realised this the first time when a small very hard working farmer came up to me who had cattle shed big enough to accommodate two cows comfortably and asked me if he could also buy two high yielding HF cross cows and improve his agriculture income? My fear was not whether he will be able to afford these exorbitant cows but my concern was whether the cows will perform at his place where he will not be able to control / alter the environment for that breed to stay stress free and give milk.

In my five years of involvement in dairy I have visited majority of dairy farms in highest milk producing states of North India and almost all farms having crossbreeds are spending too much energy and resources to create ambient temperature for the crosses which cannot tolerate hot and humid weather of India. Despite huge expenditure we find that these cows face reproductive issues and average lactations are not more than 3, whereas our own heat tolerant cows are capable of giving on average 8 lactations.

This is the reality of the dairy industry in India where our obsession for Holstein Friesian crossbreeds which have not adapted to Indian conditions yet is affecting our country negatively. They might be capable of very high milk yields but there are limitations which severely affect their capacity as the cows are very vulnerable to tropical weather and diseases. Unlike our indigenous very good milch breeds such as Sahiwal and Gir, they also need to be kept in very high-cost, cool, all-weather shelters, and require much expensive stall feeding and medical care.

Clearly, the small farmer cannot bear these costs of rearing exotic crossbreeds. But because of negligence of our Government and policy makers, the low-maintenance, weather-resistant Indian breeds are continuing to decline. Rearing cattle, therefore, is becoming nonviable for small farmers.

Success of indigenous Gir breed in a tropical country – Brazil

Our own very high milk yielding cow Gir has been developed very successfully in a tropical country such as Brazil. Brazil started importing Gir cows from India way back in 1920s and now has developed great Gir genetics which has proved itself of superior milk yielding and disease resilient capabilities in country’s hot and humid climate. Markets from Australia to Brazil are seeking Indian origin pure cattle for their resilient qualities such as tick resistance, heat tolerance and the ability to flourish even with inadequate feeds.

Indian agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh said, “Climate change will reduce productivity in all cattle. Drop in milk yield will be maximum in exotic breeds, not so in local Indian cattle.” Moreover when our cows have the capacity to perform better in terms of milk, climate change adaptability, disease tolerance and better feed conversion to milk then why are we ignoring them.

And for how long will we be able to alter the environment to make exotic cows perform to their potential. Even if few farms do succeed in creating that environment and take higher milk yields from few cows it is not sustainable agriculture as it is waste of our resources such as water, fuel, electricity, grains thereby further creating shortage of these resources and fueling up inflation in the economy.

Seed funding to sow seeds for developing superior Gir genetics in India

I would therefore like to work on Pure Gir breed and with this seed fund I would startup a project on these climate resilient cattle so that I have better idea of the performance of the breed in one year. I will purchase six best Gir cows from its breeding tracts along with semen of best bulls of Gir Genetics available from breeding centres such as Sabarmati Ashram Gaushala, Gujarat.

I will set aside $4200 to purchase about 6 pure Gir cows from its breeding tracts. It will cost me about $10 to purchase about twenty straws of Gir semen. About $400 will be used on Gir transportation from its breeding tract to our farm.
Insurance cost of cows for one year will cost about $100 and remaining $300 will be used in my own travel and accommodation to purchase the cows. It is not going to be difficult for me as I have my dairy setup to rear the cows and a separate space would be allocated to them.

Over a period of one year we will monitor their performance and shall have considerable data on their lactation length, total milk yields, health, maintenance costs, conception rate and number of off-springs and their reproductive performance. This will give us clear results on their suitability for dairy farming. I am sure that I will get good results from these cows and breed them with procured Gir semen of best bulls.

Having five years of dairy experience, it is not going to be difficult for me to identify pure Girs and purchase the most suitable ones. The project shall be expanded further with my own funds later on. At our farm since we have ample available green fodder, comfortable housing the cows will be reared properly from day one and we will be able to improve their genetic potential.

I am sure that these cows will lay strong foundation for dairy farming in India in time to come. It has become my strong desire to make dairy farming a happy and healthy venture for all farmers in India and I am committed to my endeavour.

https://blog.gfar.net/2016/02/20/ya...-indian-cattle-nikki-pilania-chaudhary-india/

Already Gir's artificial insemination has become an business. In villages, it costs even less for natural breeding.

 

[Indika]

For some indians everything that is western can never be wrong. Problem is not with uneducated Indians as they most of the time follows rules or tries to reason it out. It is the so called western educated half baked ones who have lost reasoning ability and slavishly follow others. They simply cannot understand the whole scheme of things instead approach things with a narrow minded view.

Ironically these activists are influenced by meat consuming western society and take upon the moral tasking of indian customs.

 

[Ankit Kumar 002]

Anything supported by Liberals, Left or Foreign NGOs, I am against it.

 

[Rajaraja Chola]

This majestic cow is from Brazil. Belonging to the Gir breed of Gujarat, this cow -- named She-ra -- clocked 62.033 litres of milk in a 3-day milk competition at the 40th Expaja in Brazil, beating her own record of 59.947 litres. While Indian cattle breeds are doing exceptionally fine abroad, the fascination of our own policy makers for exotic breeds seems to be never ending. Meanwhile, Brazil has emerged as the biggest exporter of Indian breeds of cows. Recently I wrote: "newspapers in Punjab reported that an American company -- World Wide Sires Ltd -- is planning to provide high quality semen to dairy farmers. Some days back, I had heard that the Kerala minister for Animal Husbandry was thinking of importing some improved cattle breeds from Denmark for cross breeding with local cows." [See my blog post: Holy Cows -- acclaimed abroad, despised at home. http://devinder-sharma.blogspot.in/2010/09/holy-cows-acclaimed-abroad-despised-at.html].

A few weeks back, Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal announced the setting up of an advanced institute for dairy farming in Mohali. This will be a joint collaboration with an Israeli firm -- Dairy Farming Solutions -- and will impart latest technology to farmers to improve the milch cattle [Punjab to have advanced institute of dairy farming, http://post.jagran.com/punjab-to-have-advanced-institute-of-dairy-farming-1341507876].

Not only in Brazil, Indian cattle breeds have also been improved upon in the United States and Australia. In the US, the breed is called Brahman. Recently, after a study visit to Malaysia, Sagari Ramdas, the co-director of Anthra in Andhra Pradesh, wrote in the Down to Earth magazine: "On our visit to Malaysia, we were intrigued when we came across a cattle breed, which the farmers kept referring to as “the Brahman”. This was a complete mystery to us. Which Brahman came to Malaysiaand named these cattle the Brahman?"

"On our visit to the government’s Department of Veterinary Services in the state of Selangor we saw photographs of the Grey Brahman, the Red Brahman and the Nellore—all part of a poster on cattlebreeds of Malaysia. Not to mention that the Jamunapari goat also featured in the poster as a goatbreed of the country. This intrigued us even further, but none of the veterinary officers could explain how the Nellore from Andhra Pradesh and the Jamunapari from Uttar Pradesh happened to figure in a poster on the breeds of Malaysia."

She came back and researched. "Brahman breed is a product of biopiracy of several Indian breeds, which occurred over 100 years ago, when India was a colony of the British Empire, when “pirates” of today’s “Empire”—and modern day “Brahman”, the US—spirited out a nucleus of approximately 266 bulls and 22 females of several Bos indicus (Indian cattle), imported them to the US between 1854 and 1926, and developed the breed.

According to the literature, the Brahman is the progeny of four Indian cattle breeds: the Kankrej and Gir from Gujarat, the Ongole (earlier known as the Nellore) from Andhra Pradesh, with the fourthbreed being the “Gujarat”. But no such breed exists in the list of Indian cattle breeds.

The Brahman has become the most popular beef cattle breed in the southern parts of the US and in South America, Asia, and Australia because of its excellent adaptability to sub-tropical climates and its production abilities.

Brahman-type cattle were, in fact, imported to Australia from the US, and today the Australian Brahman is the mainstay of the northern beef industry of Australia. The Brahman in Malaysia has primarily been imported from Australia, which has a virtual monopoly in exporting the breed to several south-east Asian countries. So much so that Malaysia’s beef cattle industry is completely dependent on continued import of the Brahman from Australia [You can read the full article The loss of our breeds, Down to Earth, 2012-7-15. http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/loss-our-breeds]."

This brings me back to the question I have been asking again and again. When will we begin to recognise our desi breeds of cows? Why is it that planners are averse to our own domestic breeds?

What is also little know is the fact that Indian cows and buffaloes produce a more nutritious milk than the exotic breeds like Jersey and Holstein-Friesian. A recent study by Karnal-based National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR) showed Indian cows have a rich A2 allele gene which helps them produce healthier milk. The frequency of this A2 allele in Indian breeds is 100 per cent whereas in exotic cattle breeds it is less than 60 per cent. Imported breeds posses A1 allele, which is considered to be associated with diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular diseases [Indian Cow, Buffalo breeds give healthier milk. http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=725938]. Why do we want the future generations to be sick with lifestyle diseases?

http://devinder-sharma.blogspot.ca/2012/07/brazil-is-biggest-exporter-of-indian.html

 

[DesiGuy1403]

Anything supported by Liberals, Left or Foreign NGOs, I am against it.

Sadly, I think I am tilting to that boat as well.
It has become us vs them now a days.

 

[kadamba-warrior]

Brilliant piece, mate!

The PETA can't do anything about the Spaniards killing the bull in such a brutal manner, but want Indians to let go off their traditions which aren't even half as brutal and are actually meant to serve a purpose.

In fact, many Indian rural folk, who can't afford to rear bulls just for fighting but for farming as well, have vested interest in keeping their bulls taken good care of, long after the festivities are over. Unlike the Spaniards who are all too happy to see their fighting bulls dead -- their backs literally tore open to madness that they call sports! Unbelievably disgusting!

Does Tamilians alone boasts to having this type of tests in selection? Wrong. Karnataka has it. Maharastra has it. Madhya Pradesh has it in their own ways of rock pulling, bullock cart races and other games. ]

Yep, I can confirm that many villages in Karnataka - especially the northern and the coastal parts have their own games/rituals involving bulls which are meant to test their stamina/strength. In fact, few villages in Northern Karnataka (perhaps in southern Maharashtra too) have games that are surprisingly similar to Jallikattu.

The Indian cow breeds that are extremely hardy and resistant to drought/diseases are becoming extinct in our pursuit for higher milk yield. It would be a disaster if we were to lose them permanently or to have their gene pools contaminated!

 

[Rajaraja Chola]

The way I see it, when countries such as Brazil, US export Indian genetic cows to foreign markets, and we import Western cows, has been an abject of our own idiotic stupid and intellectual failure.

Brilliant piece, mate!

The PETA can't do anything about the Spaniards killing the bull in such a brutal manner, but want Indians to let go off their traditions which aren't even half as brutal and are actually meant to serve a purpose.

In fact, many Indian rural folk, who can't afford to rear bulls just for fighting but for farming as well, have vested interest in keeping their bulls taken good care of, long after the festivities are over. Unlike the Spaniards who are all too happy to see their fighting bulls dead -- their backs literally tore open to madness that they call sports! Unbelievably disgusting!



Yep, I can confirm that many villages in Karnataka - especially the northern and the coastal parts have their own games/rituals involving bulls which are meant to test their stamina/strength. In fact, few villages in Northern Karnataka (perhaps in southern Maharashtra too) have games that are surprisingly similar to Jallikattu.

The Indian cow breeds that are extremely hardy and resistant to drought/diseases are becoming extinct in our pursuit for higher milk yield. It would be a disaster if we were to lose them permanently or to have their gene pools contaminated!

We always curse our hot and humid climate. And unknown to us, this climate has adapted our body and animals to various natural phenomenons. When South people are serving in the Siachen, the Westerns cannot adapt their body in hot Indian conditions, with many die in their own countries when a heat wave occurs.

Jersey is adaptable to their conditions. Not in India. Our own version of Science ie Scientific selections should not discarded. I hope Karnataka Maharastra erupt in protests in the scale people of TN does to send a message to New Delhi and NGO's.

Yet another example of leftism's desire to turn the whole world into a culture-less bland mix of totaly "equal" and homogeneous clones. To rid the world of poverty, ignorance and depravity.....their answer is to strip it of wealth, knowledge and virtue!

These agents operate through NGOs and have deluded many Indians into joining their foul cause. Jallikatu is just one example.

We must rise up and fight for our rights and our culture that our ancestors strove so hard and shed blood to preserve! So many of us meekly hand it over or disown it in the name of "progress" without actually stopping to think for one serious moment in our lives about what the truth actually may be and to seek it out! Truth is the ultimate quest...and to dishonour that is the most single vile thing a Human being can do to himself/herself....and its nothing short of a genocide when that is not enough and it is expanded in smothering other people's truth quest without giving them a chance!

Fight back those of you that have honour left in you....even if it seems a doomed cause....do not submit to the treachery and lies!

Seen the video? Says, when kids of Madras themselves do not understand its importance, how can people living far away in the North, understand this science. Remember Menaka Gandhi's twitter on Jallikattu? That it is a foreign culture.

 

[Nilgiri]

Seen the video? Says, when kids of Madras themselves do not understand its importance, how can people living far away in the North, understand this science. Remember Menaka Gandhi's twitter on Jallikattu? That it is a foreign culture.

Indeed. Why must others try to understand when we ourselves are to blame for establishing the subversion.

We are too good at self inflicting our own cultural demise.

 

[Rajaraja Chola]

http://www.npr.org/2013/09/14/220784963/in-frances-camargue-bulls-are-a-passion-and-a-way-of-life

In France's Camargue, Bulls Are A Passion And A Way Of Life

• 
  
  
  
  The black, long-horned Camargue bull is just one of two breeds of fighting bulls in Europe. The bulls are shown here at the Roman arena in Arles, southern France.
  
  Eleanor Beardsley/NPR
  Amid streaks of lightning and startling thunder claps on a recent day, I head out into the middle of the marshy wetlands known as the Camargue. I'm with a group of tourists, piled on hay bales in the back of a flatbed trailer pulled by a massive tractor.
  
  The delta in southern France where two branches of the Rhone River meet the sea, the Camargue is the biggest Mediterranean delta after the Nile. The stunning ecosystem is home to pink flamingos, rice paddies and salt, which has been harvested here since the Middle Ages.
  
  But the Camargue's most stunning icons are its white horses and black, long-horned bulls that roam free over much of the 360-square-mile area.
  
  
  Gardiens, or cowboys, Renaud Vinuesa (on horseback, left) and Olivier Terroux (on horseback, right) are out in the Camargue region of southern France for a branding, or la ferrade, with their tridents.
  
  Eleanor Beardsley/NPR
  Ranch hand Olivier Terroux says horse, bull and man are all linked in the Camargue.
  
  "The Camargue horses, which are the last ridden work horse bred in France, are our link with the bulls," says Terroux. "They help us manage the herds. But for the horses it's not work, it's like a game. It's instinct. They're like sheep dogs."
  
  The bulls in the Camargue are raised for fighting in the hundreds of arenas throughout the towns and villages in this region of France.
  
  Bound For The Fighting Ring, But Not Death
  
  Ranch owner Renaud Vinuesa has 60 horses and 160 bulls. He says Spanish bulls and Camargue bulls are the last two breeds of fighting bulls in Europe. Raising bulls is his passion, Vinuesa says.
  
  "We look for the most aggressive and combative ones for the ring," he says. "But while a bull destined for the Spanish corrida (bullfight) has one fight of his life, a good Camargue bull can fight for a decade."
  
  That's because Camargue bulls aren't killed in the rings. Vinuesa says Camargue bulls make progress and get tougher as the years go on, because they're extremely smart.
  
  Ranchers like Vinuesa rent their bulls out to fight in the region's many arenas, like the Roman arena in the city of Arles. This amazing, stone-white amphitheater was built 2,000 years ago. It's a bit weather-worn, but remains pretty much unchanged since Romans times.
  
  In a Camargue bullfight, known as la course Camarguaise, the goal of the Camargue matador, or raseteur, is to pluck a ribbon from between the bull's horns. The bulls aren't killed or injured, but it's extremely dangerous for the men trying to get that ribbon. The dozen or so raseteurs, all dressed in white, crisscross the arena, calling out to the creature to attract him. They constantly have to leap up into the bleachers to escape the charging bull.
  
  
  
  i
  French raseteur Sabri Allouani flees from a bull during a bullfight in Vendargues, southeastern France, in 2006.
  
  Dominique Faget/AFP/Getty Images
  Life in the small towns of the Camargue revolves around bulls. Every village has its summer bull festival, with bull-runs through the streets and lots of events in the local, leaf-shaded arenas.
  
  One popular game is Taureau-Piscine, or Bull-Swimming Pool. The game actually features Camargue cows. But with their equally long, sharp horns, they look just like their male counterparts. The game is supposed to help identify the most aggressive mothers for breeding.
  
  Several young men in the ring taunt the angry cow, trying to get it to chase them through a kiddie pool laid out in the middle arena. The confused cows repeatedly jump out of the ring, thinking they're escaping the ridiculous game, but instead they're funneled back into the arena to face their taunters again. Luckily for the cows, their turn only lasts 15 minutes.
  
  Teased And Taunted, Respected And Revered
  
  While the crowd cheers wildly, I can't help thinking how completely pointless and cruel this all seems. But Marie Laconneau and her two small children seem to be having a great time. Laconneau says it's part of their culture and fun to watch. I ask her if it's not a bit cruel.
  
  "No, they're not suffering," she tells me. "They're born and raised for this. And we don't kill them. They go free afterwards."
  
  You can't really argue with that. No matter how you look at it, Camargue bull games are a lot less cruel than the corrida. Still, there seems to be a strange paradox with the way bulls are treated in the Camargue. They're teased and taunted, but also clearly revered and respected.
  
  It's not the bullfighters, but the bulls that are the celebrities here. The great fighting bulls are buried in the marshes, and villages erect statues to them. Every self-respecting Camargue village has its bull statue.
  
  A monument at the entrance to the village of Le Cailar has the inscription, "To Le Sanglier, a great fighting bull." Le Sanglier lived from 1916 to 1933. There's a plaque from the villagers who celebrated the 50th anniversary of his death, and there's a photo of him on the monument.
  
  The bulls that don't do well in the arena do end up on the dinner plate. And a life spent roaming free and eating grass makes for some of the tastiest and most tender meat you'll ever have.
  
  Ranchers here say you won't get rich from raising fighting bulls. But the people of the Camargue say it's more than an occupation — it's a way of life and a passion.

Here in France, agressive cows are selected for breeding through their games.

For some indians everything that is western can never be wrong. Problem is not with uneducated Indians as they most of the time follows rules or tries to reason it out. It is the so called western educated half baked ones who have lost reasoning ability and slavishly follow others. They simply cannot understand the whole scheme of things instead approach things with a narrow minded view.

Ironically these activists are influenced by meat consuming western society and take upon the moral tasking of indian customs.

Our ancient people used copper and mud plates, mugs and tumblers for eating. With time, invasions and colonial period, it made way to silver, gold, stainless steel. Now Western scientists have told in a research that eating and cooking in copper plates are actually good for health.

See last two minutes. How bulls are killed in slaughter houses.

 

[RISING SUN]

http://www.npr.org/2013/09/14/220784963/in-frances-camargue-bulls-are-a-passion-and-a-way-of-life

In France's Camargue, Bulls Are A Passion And A Way Of Life

• 
  
  
  
  The black, long-horned Camargue bull is just one of two breeds of fighting bulls in Europe. The bulls are shown here at the Roman arena in Arles, southern France.
  
  Eleanor Beardsley/NPR
  Amid streaks of lightning and startling thunder claps on a recent day, I head out into the middle of the marshy wetlands known as the Camargue. I'm with a group of tourists, piled on hay bales in the back of a flatbed trailer pulled by a massive tractor.
  
  The delta in southern France where two branches of the Rhone River meet the sea, the Camargue is the biggest Mediterranean delta after the Nile. The stunning ecosystem is home to pink flamingos, rice paddies and salt, which has been harvested here since the Middle Ages.
  
  But the Camargue's most stunning icons are its white horses and black, long-horned bulls that roam free over much of the 360-square-mile area.
  
  
  Gardiens, or cowboys, Renaud Vinuesa (on horseback, left) and Olivier Terroux (on horseback, right) are out in the Camargue region of southern France for a branding, or la ferrade, with their tridents.
  
  Eleanor Beardsley/NPR
  Ranch hand Olivier Terroux says horse, bull and man are all linked in the Camargue.
  
  "The Camargue horses, which are the last ridden work horse bred in France, are our link with the bulls," says Terroux. "They help us manage the herds. But for the horses it's not work, it's like a game. It's instinct. They're like sheep dogs."
  
  The bulls in the Camargue are raised for fighting in the hundreds of arenas throughout the towns and villages in this region of France.
  
  Bound For The Fighting Ring, But Not Death
  
  Ranch owner Renaud Vinuesa has 60 horses and 160 bulls. He says Spanish bulls and Camargue bulls are the last two breeds of fighting bulls in Europe. Raising bulls is his passion, Vinuesa says.
  
  "We look for the most aggressive and combative ones for the ring," he says. "But while a bull destined for the Spanish corrida (bullfight) has one fight of his life, a good Camargue bull can fight for a decade."
  
  That's because Camargue bulls aren't killed in the rings. Vinuesa says Camargue bulls make progress and get tougher as the years go on, because they're extremely smart.
  
  Ranchers like Vinuesa rent their bulls out to fight in the region's many arenas, like the Roman arena in the city of Arles. This amazing, stone-white amphitheater was built 2,000 years ago. It's a bit weather-worn, but remains pretty much unchanged since Romans times.
  
  In a Camargue bullfight, known as la course Camarguaise, the goal of the Camargue matador, or raseteur, is to pluck a ribbon from between the bull's horns. The bulls aren't killed or injured, but it's extremely dangerous for the men trying to get that ribbon. The dozen or so raseteurs, all dressed in white, crisscross the arena, calling out to the creature to attract him. They constantly have to leap up into the bleachers to escape the charging bull.
  
  
  
  i
  French raseteur Sabri Allouani flees from a bull during a bullfight in Vendargues, southeastern France, in 2006.
  
  Dominique Faget/AFP/Getty Images
  Life in the small towns of the Camargue revolves around bulls. Every village has its summer bull festival, with bull-runs through the streets and lots of events in the local, leaf-shaded arenas.
  
  One popular game is Taureau-Piscine, or Bull-Swimming Pool. The game actually features Camargue cows. But with their equally long, sharp horns, they look just like their male counterparts. The game is supposed to help identify the most aggressive mothers for breeding.
  
  Several young men in the ring taunt the angry cow, trying to get it to chase them through a kiddie pool laid out in the middle arena. The confused cows repeatedly jump out of the ring, thinking they're escaping the ridiculous game, but instead they're funneled back into the arena to face their taunters again. Luckily for the cows, their turn only lasts 15 minutes.
  
  Teased And Taunted, Respected And Revered
  
  While the crowd cheers wildly, I can't help thinking how completely pointless and cruel this all seems. But Marie Laconneau and her two small children seem to be having a great time. Laconneau says it's part of their culture and fun to watch. I ask her if it's not a bit cruel.
  
  "No, they're not suffering," she tells me. "They're born and raised for this. And we don't kill them. They go free afterwards."
  
  You can't really argue with that. No matter how you look at it, Camargue bull games are a lot less cruel than the corrida. Still, there seems to be a strange paradox with the way bulls are treated in the Camargue. They're teased and taunted, but also clearly revered and respected.
  
  It's not the bullfighters, but the bulls that are the celebrities here. The great fighting bulls are buried in the marshes, and villages erect statues to them. Every self-respecting Camargue village has its bull statue.
  
  A monument at the entrance to the village of Le Cailar has the inscription, "To Le Sanglier, a great fighting bull." Le Sanglier lived from 1916 to 1933. There's a plaque from the villagers who celebrated the 50th anniversary of his death, and there's a photo of him on the monument.
  
  The bulls that don't do well in the arena do end up on the dinner plate. And a life spent roaming free and eating grass makes for some of the tastiest and most tender meat you'll ever have.
  
  Ranchers here say you won't get rich from raising fighting bulls. But the people of the Camargue say it's more than an occupation — it's a way of life and a passion.

Here in France, agressive cows are selected for breeding through their games.



Our ancient people used copper and mud plates, mugs and tumblers for eating. With time, invasions and colonial period, it made way to silver, gold, stainless steel. Now Western scientists have told in a research that eating and cooking in copper plates are actually good for health.

See last two minutes. How bulls are killed in slaughter houses.

This thread is eye opener for us.

 

[Kashmiri Pandit]

I better not put my nose where it does not belong But hypocrisy of those who want a ban on this is quite visible .

More Animals are slaughtered to satisfy our addiction to meat , I say first try to have a ban on meat after that we will worry about Cock Fights , Dog Fights and Bull Fights