The government has embarked on an ambitious programme to give a 12-digit unique identification number to 88 million cows and buffaloes in the country. According to a report, one lakh trained technicians have been sent to every nook and cranny to affix a tag inside an ear of each such animal. The polyurethane tag is tamperproof, cannot be opened by a wrench and is designed to last for years. It weighs just eight grams and causes no trouble to the animal. Once the tag is in place, the owner will be given an “animal health card” giving all its details as also the owner’s.
The government claims that it will help in better breeding, increasing milk production and doubling the owner’s income by 2022. No other country, including Switzerland and Australia, which have vast cattle wealth, has such an animal identification system. The UID programme for animals was not discussed much in the public domain; so, few have a clear idea of the benefits that would accrue to the nation.
That so many people are employed in it is a pointer to the enormous cost involved. Also, it is not known how the UID will help in improving the quantity and quality of the milk yield. At best it will help in having a databank on India’s cattle wealth. Eventually, it will involve the setting up of a department with adequate staff to update the databank by removing those which die and including those which are born.
The critics may see it as an attempt to keep track of illegal slaughter of the animals, because with the information the government would have, it would be easy to identify those who push their cows and buffaloes into slaughterhouses or transport them to states like Kerala and West Bengal where cow slaughter is not yet banned and a country like Bangladesh where they are in demand. The question arises: Why should animals have an UID when not every citizen has been given an Aadhar card?