Welfare assessment of cows in cow shelters (gaushalas) in India

Abstract

Cow shelters (gaushalas) are unique traditional institutions in India, where aged, infertile, diseased, rescued, and abandoned cows are sheltered for the rest of their life, until they die of natural causes. These institutions owe their existence to the reverence for the cow as a holy mother goddess for Hindus, the majority religion in India. There is a religious and legal prohibition on cow slaughter in most Indian states. A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the welfare of cows in these shelters, which included the development of a welfare assessment protocol, based on direct animal-based measurements, indirect resource-based assessments, and description of the herd characteristics by the manager. A total of 54 cow shelters in 6 states of India were studied and 1620 animals were clinically examined, based on 37 health, welfare, and behaviour parameters. Thirty resources provided to the cows were also measured. Descriptive statistics and multivariable analysis were used to identify welfare issues in these shelters and risk factors associated with these issues. The major issues found in the shelters were — the low space allowance per cow, poor quality of the floors, lack of bedding, little freedom of movement, and a lack of pasture grazing. Some shelters also had compromised biosecurity and risks of zoonosis. The frictional characteristics of floors was measured by a novel technique that I developed and was least for concrete and greatest for earth floors. The proportion of cows with dirty hind limbs declined with increasing friction of the floor, probably reflecting the fact that they felt more confident to stand rather than lie on high friction floors. The overall lameness prevalence was 4.2% and it was positively correlated with udder dirtiness, the ulceration of the hock joint, carpal joint injuries and claw overgrowth. Lame cows were associated with a low body condition score (BCS). Addressing the principle risk factors identified for lameness in the sheltered cows may help to reduce this serious animal welfare problem. The distance that a cow can be approached by a person before fleeing (the avoidance distance) provided a measure of cows’ nervousness of people, which increased with a number of health problems - the proportion of cows with dirty hind limbs, hock joint swellings, and hair loss. There was also evidence of reduced avoidance distances in cows with moving difficulties, those with high levels of body condition score (BCS), dirty flanks, joint ulceration, carpal joint injuries, diarrhoea, hampered respiration, lesions on the body due to traumatic injuries, and body coat condition. Cows aggregated stress levels were measured as hair cortisol concentration, which was increased if there was dung accumulated in the lying area of the cowshed, also if the location was in a cold place and if the cows had little access to yards, dirty flanks, hock joint ulceration, carpal joint injuries, body lesions, dehydration, an empty rumen, or were old aged. Hair cortisol level promises to be an effective biomarker of stress in cows in shelters. A managers’ survey revealed adequate vaccination of cows against endemic diseases and paraciticidal treatments. Cows were not screened for brucellosis and tuberculosis and biosecurity measures were very limited; in addition, animal waste disposable was not properly managed in many shelters. Indiscriminate breeding of cows with no separation of the sexes was observed in most shelters. Only one half of the shelters maintained management records. The majority of the managers thought that welfare of cows under their care was important and it was adequate. They also claimed possessing adequate knowledge about cow welfare. Engagement of shelters mangers in decision making is vital for the effective management of the welfare of cows. A survey of the attitudes of 825 members of the public in the vicinity of the shelters revealed general support for the shelter and identified demographic differences. Public donations were the largest source of income to run the shelters. Financial audits were regularly conducted in most shelters. The issues identified in this study will point the way in ensuring the sustainability of these institutions. This welfare assessment protocol has identified the key welfare issues in the shelters, which can be used when providing feedback for improvement to the shelter managers and to government.