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The Cattle Trust: Transit home for cattle freed from illicit abattoirs
View(s):The Maligakanda Magistrate’s court has ordered that 50 head of cattle and over one hundred goats and sheep rescued from an allegedly illicit slaughterhouse operating in the guise of a ‘Charity Farm’ at Orugodawatta in Colombo central, be handed over to a Cattle Protection Trust, for protective custody until the case is concluded.
The Cattle Trust, which is a volunteer citizens organisation headed by former Attorney General C.R. de Silva P.C. and comprising of senior public servants, both serving and retired, came forward and accepted the cattle from the Magistrate’s Court to have the animals sent to their cattle shelter situated in a 25-acre block provided by the Mahaveli Authority near the Rambaken Oya scheme at Maha Oya. This Trust is established under the Public Trustees Ordinance and receives the support of the President’s Fund.
From hell to a haven: The sanctuary near the Rambaken Oya scheme at Maha Oya (above) and below illicit slaughterhouse at Orugodawatta
The Trust has been obliged to feed 151 animals including 100 goats and sheep taken into custody by the Police, following the raid on the ‘farm’, although the Trust is engaged only in the protection of the cattle. Several animal-lovers have come forward with substantial financial support for the welfare of the animals, as the Police do not have the resources to fulfill this task.
The Trust has provided a long felt need for the protection of cattle seized by courts around the country, as there was no proper shelter for these animals thereafter.
The police has complained that they are not in a position to maintain the cattle in their premises. The Cattle Trust has come forward to care for these animals. The cost of transporting and feeding the animals seized this week, has cost the Trust Rs 400,000, said a member of the Trust.
The Colombo Crime Division (CCD) recently raided three illicit slaughterhouses in Dematagoda also in Colombo central, which were run under the guise of “charity farms.” The CCD has filed cases against the accused who were running these farms, and the cases are pending in the Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court.
The accused have been charged with committing offences under the Butchers Ordinance, the Animals Act and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance, for engaging in the trade of butchers without licences, exposing pregnant cows and cow calves to slaughter and the cruel treatment of animals, including confining them in extremely small enclosures, tying them up with short ropes likely to cause suffocation, and of starving them.
A member of the Trust said that they were also open to taking charge of cattle that private citizens free from slaughterhouses, and had no place to keep them or the provision to maintain them.
The cattle once taken into their care are handed over to families living near the shelter-sanctuary for looking after under the supervision of the Trust.
“The cattle are allowed to live freely and the Trust will take care of the medical needs of the animals as well”, a Trust member said yesterday.
The Trust has also employed two persons to feed the animals and keep the premises clean under the existing circumstances.
The Trust welcomes donations from well-wishers, a Trustee said.