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Showing posts from July, 2017

What Should We Make of India's Cow Protection Movement?

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"[O]n April 21, 2017, in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir state, a mob brutally attacked five members of a nomad cattle-herding family, including a 9-year-old girl, on suspicion that they were taking their cows for slaughter. A video posted on social media showed a group of men chanting slogans commonly used by BJP supporters, breaking down the family’s shelter, beating an elderly man with rods and sticks even as women begged for mercy, and finally setting the shelter on fire." This episode is the latest in a trend sweeping India of "cow protection" that has won praise and accolades from some animal advocates, from up and down my newsfeed, and from Leonardo DiCaprio . The tide has swept high enough that India recently banned the sale of cows for slaughter . It's now reached the point at which the movement turns to violence, high on its own success . What should animal rights activists make of this movement? The turn to violence is something to op