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4th October 1998

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After Thought

They can't cry out in pain but they feel it

By Kumudini Hettiarachchi

Man's inhumanity to man, which we see so much in Sri Lanka is bad enough, but when it extends to animals, who cannot cry out loud, the cruelty is much worse.

When such treatment occurs in state-run places, which should set an example, it goes beyond cruelty, to downright callousness.

Last December, soon after Christmas we were in Nuwara Eliya. One morning, as a chill wind blew across the mountains and valleys around the town, we set off to see the Ambewela farm run by the National Livestock Development Board. We thought it would be good for our children to see how, using modern technology, we were getting our thick glass of milk every morning.

Across a picturesque bridge, on to the road leading to Ambewela. Green-carpeted plains, dotted with trees. As we turned onto the gravel road leading to the farm, the mist, like a gossamer mantle on the elegant shoulders of a pretty woman, was falling gently on the hills and clinging onto the trees. The sun had disappeared.

The moment we drove into the farm, the stench was unbearable. As "milking time" was still to come, we looked around. What we saw not only made us sad, but also made my five-year-old daughter vow that she would never drink milk again.

All the stalls were filthy and wet. The foul odour which pervaded the air was not only unbearable but also inexplicable. It was not just the cow-dung, and there were heaps and heaps of uncleared dung all over the place, in the stalls, in the corridors everywhere. Rotting grass and dung added to a musty wetness made it impossible for us to walk around for long, even with handkerchiefs to our noses.

The milking was another spectacle. The cows, with bulging udders, were literally shoved into place near each machine, hosed down a little bit and the "suckers" fixed, pumping the milk into large bottle-like containers. Some of the cows, who had been lying on the muck before they were brought for milking had dried dung and even fresh, wet dung smeared all over their udders, which the hosing down would not wash off. So the muck was sprayed into the containers along with the milk.

On our way out, my daughter pointed to a cow, sprawled flat in a stall, eyes glazed in pain. When I looked closely I saw that she was in labour, and was just about to deliver, in fact the calf was emerging. And the cow was all alone in her pain and anguish amidst the squalor and filth. Couldn't she have been put into a separate stall?

Shouldn't such a large farm have facilities for pregnant cows to be isolated in a cleaner environment?

Didn't she deserve better? Is it that because she couldn't cry out in agony, the farm authorities were indifferent to her pain and suffering? Ideally she should have been monitored by a vet. At least some farm-hand should have been around to talk to her gently, stroke her furrowed brow and reassure her. Even animals need kindness and tenderness, especially when in pain. Who cares? No one does.

I grabbed my daughter's hand and hurried her out of that hell-hole. Passing a farm-hand I did mention that he should see to the cow.

Then we left the farm, with the stench coming behind in hot pursuit.


Why should they pay for our negligence?

Did you see pictures of the magnificent tusker of the Kotte Raja Maha Viharaya fallen on his side, unable to get up, on TV. I did and it made me furious.

Why oh why have our elephants to pay for our negligence?

This tusker had been taken to Ingiriya from Kotte for a perahera.

One day when he was being taken back to the place where he was kept for the night, the rickety lorry transporting him had collapsed under his weight.

The elephant had been grievously injured.

My contention is that elephants don't belong to individuals or institutions, they belong to the nation - these majestic creatures are national treasures.

Why don't we have a policy or regulations on their transport? It is imperative to lay down rules, otherwise domesticated elephants are at the mercy of unscrupulous people who will try to save a few hundred rupees by hiring ramshackle vehicles to transport them. When taking them in a vehicle, it should be ensured that it can carry the weight of the elephant. The animal should also be "restrained" in such a way that it would not be able to sway from side to side causing an imbalance, while travelling. What about water? How often, on a long journey, would the vehicle be stopped to give the animal water in such a hot climate?

These are a few of the issues the relevant authorities should look into and rectify. Otherwise, elephants would become extinct not only because they are hunted for their tusks and killed by farmers, but also because of our negligence and irresponsibility.

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