Photo courtesy: vethelplineindia.co.in

Artificial insemination technique will be used in cattle with the help of sex-sorted semen in Assam so that only superior breeds of cows, and no bulls, are born, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

Through the use of sex-sorted semen, the gender of the calf can be pre-determined. Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that cow shelters will be opened in tea garden areas to keep seized cattle safely.

With the Assam Cattle Preservation Bill, 2021, the BJP-led state government is mulling a ban on consuming beef.

“The veterinary department has told me that we can go for artificial insemination in cattle using sex-sorted semen. This would mean that 10 to 20 years later, the cattle breed will be only cows, and no bulls,” Sarma said.

During a discussion on a special mention brought by opposition AIUDF legislator Aminul Islam in the Assam Legislative Assembly, the CM claimed that there is a tendency among the people to give away bulls to slaughterhouses.

“If we look at Hindu ‘parampara’ or ancient history, there is reference only to female cattle, like Kamdhenu, and how we were benefited with milk. That means there must have been something which ensured that cows were more in number than bulls,” Sarma said.

According to Indian mythology, Kamdhenu is a sacred cow that grants all wishes of its owner.

On ensuring that cattle seized by the police in the state are kept safely, the chief minister said that goshalas (cow shelters) will be opened and run at tea gardens by the government as excess land is available in these areas.

The cow dung can be used by the tea gardens as organic fertiliser, he added. Acknowledging that looking after the seized cattle is a problem, he said that running away from problems will not help and solutions have to be found out.

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