Introduction
Walk through any Indian city, and you will notice a heartbreaking trend: the vast majority of young cattle wandering the streets are male calves (Nandis). They are often severely malnourished, confused, and highly vulnerable to traffic. To solve this crisis, we have to understand where they come from.
The Urban Dairy Connection Cows, like humans, only produce milk when they give birth. To keep the milk flowing, dairy cows are bred annually. If a female calf is born, she is kept to produce milk. If a male calf is born, he is often viewed as a financial burden by unregulated urban dairies because he will never produce milk and modern farming no longer requires bullocks for plowing. Tragically, these days-old male calves are frequently untethered and pushed out onto the street to fend for themselves.
How You Can Help
- Support Ethical Dairies: Research where your milk comes from and support farms that have strict “no slaughter, no abandonment” policies for male calves.
- Sponsor a Nandi: Many genuine Gaushalas take in abandoned male calves, but they struggle with funding. Sponsoring the monthly feed for one male calf is a powerful way to make a difference.