Cow who loves consuming provider baggage compelled to have 50kg of plastic faraway from abdomen
The Indian male cow had developed a taste for plastic waste and was found to have a whopping 50kg of debris within its digestive system, forcing vets to operate
The cow had to undergo surgery
A cow who loved nothing more than to chew on carrier bags found out the hard way why he should have stuck to grass, after undergoing a brutal and dangerous surgery to remove a whopping 50kg worth of plastic from inside his digestive system.
The bull, who lives in the Indian city of Bhubaneswar apparently had begun feeding on piles of rubbish made up of food scraps, as well as plastic waste such as packaging and other debris.
Vets were forced to operate on the poor creature after noticing the bull’s abdomen had become dangerously enlarged. The cow could hardly stand by the time it went under the knife, according to reports.
Shocked surgeons worked tirelessly to remove 50kg of plastic and other non-edible substances from inside the cows stomach and digestive tract.
Cows are known to have some of the most complicated digestive systems in the animal kingdom, with stomachs divided into four distinct compartments that allow them to digest grass.
A local animal rights activist speaking to Indian news site the Deccan Chronicle said he hoped that the story would “dissuade people” from throwing their rubbish onto the streets.
“The incident brings to light the growing threat posed by indiscriminate disposal of plastic waste”, he stated.
“Stray cattle often consume plastic bags mixed with food scraps in urban areas, leading to serious health complications and, in many cases, death. Strong enforcement of law must be in place to dissuade people from dumping residue foods with plastic wastes in open places,” said Pramod Kumar Deb.
Sadly, this story is far from the first time a cow has been forced to undergo surgery because of plastic consumption.
In 2022, a cow in India’s Ganjam District was found to have 15kg worth of polythene bags inside its stomach, forcing local vets to operate on the creature.
In both instances, the cows are believed to have made a full recovery.
Cows are common on Indian streets because they are considered sacred in Hinduism and are therefore protected by laws which ban slaughter in most states.
When cows stop producing milk, owners have been known to abandon them in order to avoid the cost of feeding and looking after them, resulting in over 5 million stray cattle wandering cities.
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