<p>More than 80 per cent of dairy farmers in Delhi are illegally injecting oxytocin (a schedule H drug which may not be purchased without a prescription) in huge quantity for milking cows and buffaloes, a study has found.<br /><br />An overdose of the drug has resulted in ketosis, an illness that causes deaths among bovines, PETA alleged.<br /><br />According to a report by Dr R P Parashar, president of DAV Research Society, 82 per cent of cattle breeders use oxytocin injections for forcefully milking cows and buffaloes in Delhi; 68 per cent of cattle breeders were using these injections in adjoining areas in Delhi — Sonipat, Rohtak, Faridabad, Gohana, Bahadurgarh, Loni, Ghaziabad, Hapur, Buland Shahr; and 32 per cent from remote areas of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.<br /><br />“Oxytocin creates pressure in milch cows and buffaloes to secrete milk forcefully. Some quantity of this hormone preparation is secreted along with the milk which acts as slow poison. After five to six months of conceiving, cows and buffaloes raised for their milk are impregnated repeatedly, giving rise to diseases,” said Poorva Joshipura, PETA member.<br /><br />PETA’s investigators, who visited dairies in Haryana, Delhi, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, discovered that these places have thousands of illegal dairies, housing around 50 to 3,000 animals.<br /><br />“Each animal is forced to produce approximately 14 litres of milk every day with the help of oxytocin. Oxytocin causes digestive problems, weakens bones, causes skin infections, foot disease, tuberculosis and contractions similar to labour pains. One dairy owner told us that more than half of the calves die shortly after birth because of the drug and are skinned for leather,” added Poorva. <br /><br />Dr Kurien, former chairman of the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (Amul), admits that “each year in Mumbai, 80,000 calves are forcibly put to death”.<br /><br />Threat to humans<br /><br />However, dairy farming experts say the threat is more to humans than animals. “There are long-term repercussions on animals, but let us not get alarmed. The main concern is with the diluted milk we consume as even Amul is producing the same milk,” said Ashok Khosla, Agri business advisor.<br /><br />According to Toxics Link, an environmental NGO, “Dairy products are heavily contaminated with pesticides, including DDT (which is illegal, even though farmers use it on cattle to kill mosquitoes) and methylcyclohexane.”<br /><br />A study conducted by the Consumer Guidance Society of India has discovered that there are high quantities of several contaminants such as antibiotics, aflatoxins, pesticide residues, pus, bacteria, and chemicals in milk supply in Delhi and other parts of states. <br />Unprescribed use of oxytocin injections is subject to a fine of Rs 1,000, two years imprisonment or both.</p>
<p>More than 80 per cent of dairy farmers in Delhi are illegally injecting oxytocin (a schedule H drug which may not be purchased without a prescription) in huge quantity for milking cows and buffaloes, a study has found.<br /><br />An overdose of the drug has resulted in ketosis, an illness that causes deaths among bovines, PETA alleged.<br /><br />According to a report by Dr R P Parashar, president of DAV Research Society, 82 per cent of cattle breeders use oxytocin injections for forcefully milking cows and buffaloes in Delhi; 68 per cent of cattle breeders were using these injections in adjoining areas in Delhi — Sonipat, Rohtak, Faridabad, Gohana, Bahadurgarh, Loni, Ghaziabad, Hapur, Buland Shahr; and 32 per cent from remote areas of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.<br /><br />“Oxytocin creates pressure in milch cows and buffaloes to secrete milk forcefully. Some quantity of this hormone preparation is secreted along with the milk which acts as slow poison. After five to six months of conceiving, cows and buffaloes raised for their milk are impregnated repeatedly, giving rise to diseases,” said Poorva Joshipura, PETA member.<br /><br />PETA’s investigators, who visited dairies in Haryana, Delhi, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, discovered that these places have thousands of illegal dairies, housing around 50 to 3,000 animals.<br /><br />“Each animal is forced to produce approximately 14 litres of milk every day with the help of oxytocin. Oxytocin causes digestive problems, weakens bones, causes skin infections, foot disease, tuberculosis and contractions similar to labour pains. One dairy owner told us that more than half of the calves die shortly after birth because of the drug and are skinned for leather,” added Poorva. <br /><br />Dr Kurien, former chairman of the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (Amul), admits that “each year in Mumbai, 80,000 calves are forcibly put to death”.<br /><br />Threat to humans<br /><br />However, dairy farming experts say the threat is more to humans than animals. “There are long-term repercussions on animals, but let us not get alarmed. The main concern is with the diluted milk we consume as even Amul is producing the same milk,” said Ashok Khosla, Agri business advisor.<br /><br />According to Toxics Link, an environmental NGO, “Dairy products are heavily contaminated with pesticides, including DDT (which is illegal, even though farmers use it on cattle to kill mosquitoes) and methylcyclohexane.”<br /><br />A study conducted by the Consumer Guidance Society of India has discovered that there are high quantities of several contaminants such as antibiotics, aflatoxins, pesticide residues, pus, bacteria, and chemicals in milk supply in Delhi and other parts of states. <br />Unprescribed use of oxytocin injections is subject to a fine of Rs 1,000, two years imprisonment or both.</p>
