CHENNAI: An illegal dairy unit with around 200 cattle has encroached upon the busy service lane of Chennai-Bengaluru highway in Nazarathpet posing a serious threat to motorists. Activists also allege that the staff have been injecting oxytocin, a banned drug, into the livestock to increase milk production, violating several sections of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
Located on government poramboke land just outside the Chennai city limits, thousands of litres of milk are taken daily from buffaloes and cows that are housed under direct sun at this unit. When TNIE visited the place, it was noticed that a few animals were tied within the precast stormwater drain blocks on the roadside, and most of the animals were exposed to the simmering heat.
The unit was being run illegally in unhygienic conditions with urine and dung deposits spreading all over the service lane, which is used by hundreds of vehicles daily. Makeshift shelters were also built nearby for the staff operating the unit. It may be noted that the jurisdictional Nazarathpet police station is located just 300 metres away from the unit.
Moreover, animal welfare activist M Vignesh has photographed men injecting the cattle with oxytocin before milking them. A complaint along with photographic evidence was also filed at the Nazarathpet police station. The police have registered a CSR, but not an FIR so far.
In 2018, the union health Ministry imposed a ban on the retail sale and private manufacture of oxytocin, a life-saving drug for new mothers, as it was being misused to increase milk production in cattle. A Himachal Pradesh High Court judgment in 2016 observed that daily oxytocin injections made cattle barren and reduced their lifespan. In addition, it claimed that drinking milk from oxytocin-treated cattle led to male impotence, early puberty among women and cancer.
The union government has also acknowledged the negative effects of oxytocin and declared it as a scheduled substance. It is illegal under the Food and Drug Adulteration Act, to buy, sell or administer these injections without a physician’s permit. “Section 12 of the PCA Act clearly states that usage of oxytocin is a cognizable offence. I have been observing the illegal unit for one week and saw people injecting the cattle with oxytocin in the morning and evening before milking,” Vignesh said.
Nazarathpet inspector Gunasekaran said, “We have asked the animal husbandry department officials to visit the unit and take blood samples of the animals for analysis. A few individuals identified in the photographs submitted along with the complaint, have left for Gujarat. We have summoned them for an inquiry. Once the presence of oxytocin is confirmed in the blood samples, an FIR will be filed.”