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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