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.Public 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.