Uttar Pradesh’s stray cattle adoption 50% below target

LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government has facilitated adoption of over 43,000 cattle, less than half the target of one hundred thousand, four months after it notified a scheme which offered farmers Rs 30 a day, per animal, to tackle the problem of stray cattle.

“A total of 43,103 stray cattle have been adopted as on January 16. The adoption had slowed due to cold but it is expected to pick up once the weather turns warmer. We expect to meet the target by March 15,” animal husbandry department additional director Arvind Singh told ET. Singh said that the department could recommend to the state to increase the animal adoption target to 150,000 next year.

An estimated one million stray cattle has been troubling farmers in Uttar Pradesh by destroying their crops ever since the Yogi Adityanath-led government banned slaughter of cows and its progeny since assuming power in 2017.


The Nirashrit/Besahara Govansh Sahbhagita scheme was devised in August and implemented a month later. Reports had said that Rs 30 was inadequate for feeding an animal for a day. Last month, 25 cows were reported dead in a cow shelter in Banda due to ‘cold and lack of food’.