NASIK, India and CAIRO: The narrow road is large enough for two rickshaws to pass one another, but only barely. Here in India's desert region of Maharashtra, around three hours from Mumbai, the open space of land being tilled is in stark contrast to the bustling cities that mark India. To the left, however, the stench of manure begins to creep in. It isn't trash, nor is it a field being fertilized. Rather the howling of cows begins to meander its way inside the head. Upon approaching, this partially covered cement block of stalls, all no larger than the cow herself, come into full view. The animals can't turn around and have little view of the outside world. They are stuck, and their purpose is simple: provide milk products for the over one billion Indians in the country. For a country where killing a cow is illegal, it belies reality to think that these animals, sacred for Hindus, are confined, struggling to maintain their footing on the hard pavement below their hooves. This facility, which had no sign, and only one young man moving through the area to ensure the animals were being milked on time, is part of the growing dairy industry that has been taking their advice from the factory-farming industry in Europe and North America. For local activist Sanjay, it is a horrific example of the dangers of big business. “These massive companies, with the government's approval, come into areas like this, places that tourists usually don't come to and start developing large-scale animal production facilities,” he told Bikyamasr.com in March. “We are all fighting to end this practice and allow the animals to walk in fields and have some normal life.” But it isn't to be for most of the cows who have become part of the daily milk industry in the country. And this month, the announcement that the Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited in Andhra Pradesh is to build a mega-dairy, has sparked a nerve with animal rights groups in the country. The Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organizations (FIAPO) has already launched a signature campaign with the goal of convincing the government to force the project to be abandoned. FIAPO's governing council member Shakuntala Majumdar told reporters in Mumbai on Sunday: “It is horrifying that the fertiliser company IFFCO plans to construct a mega dairy with 40,000 in Andhra Pradesh. Mega dairies simply cannot be run without compromising the well-being of animals." According to the group, animal husbandry practices in mega-dairies, which in India includ modified feed, continuous confinement and day-old weaning, put an additional burden on animals. “Additionally, mega dairies have an adverse effect on the environment due to their sheer size, and the livelihood of the local farmers. The high throughput of animals would also mean an increased population of stray animals — increased suffering, ultimately ending in slaughter," she said, in comments published by Gulf News. India has a long history of being compassionate to animals, but this rise in the past decade of factory-farming styled practices has left animal rights groups like FIAPO and activists like Sanjay looking for solutions. For them, the mega-dairy is not Indian but a foreign concept that if the vast majority of Indians knew about, would be disgraced. “India is a place where animals are treated better than most of the world, but we have growing problems that need to be addressed,” he said in March, pointing to the growing pile of cow feces that was beginning to harden after days of neglect.
