Below on May 29th I set out in detail my dilemma. I report on the finality of this.
The suffering of this animal was getting too much to bear, and the people working in the cowshed and around were also demoralized. The worms had started to attack the animal and it was too ill to even make any noise, it was a pathetic sight.
On June 5th I went to the vet in Homagama and pleaded with him to do something, to end its life humanely. He just would not accede as it is against the policy and also fearful of repercussions as putting euthanizing a cow could get him in hot water and he would not contemplate even to help. It is a major issue swept under the carpet in Sri Lanka, as we appear to want animals to suffer and die a horrendous death!
Quite by chance I met a lady who had also come to the vet saying her cow had also fallen and was not getting up with the vet saying there is nothing he could do, and another man whose buffalo who had also suffered a similar fate with the same answer from the vet. Little does he know what he is in for, and I was not the one to forewarn him of the situation he will have to undergo seeing his beloved animal suffer a similar fate. If this is any indication, I am willing to bet there are more cows dying daily in Sri Lanka in this manner than those killed for meat!
Eventually I found a kindly soul who was moved enough by our plight as to offer to help. He purchased some liquid and a syringe from the pharmacy and came to the shed. All my staff had fled the scene and they cannot face a moment like this, so poor Sagara had to hold his nose with one hand due to the foul odor of the worms eating into the animals flesh, and holding the neck with his other hand so this man could inject this fluid into the animal's neck to end its misery in about two hours.
Yesterday the 6th was the day for burial. Due to the stench and not wanting to drag the carcass too far, just out side the cattle shed between two king coconut trees, the deep pit (grave) was dug. The four staff digging then insisted on being given Rs1000/- for kasippu and they drank themselves silly and then ate a hefty lunch before dragging the carcass to the pit and covering it up in an inebriated state, and finally clearing the place, spreading some dolomite all around ostensibly to dispose of any remaining worms still around.
Of course no other work was done on the farm after that task, even though they had promised to cut the second load of grass the cattle needed to keep them from being hungry.
Please someone explain to me why they have to get blind drunk even before the job at hand is complete. Is this an excuse for a drink or a real need to do an unpleasant task in a semi comatose state?
Today, Saturday 7th of june is another new day of events on the farm, like fighting about the number of bottles of milk so and so took for sale, and why is a bottle of milk hidden under the sink! and why are the calves not being given enough vitamin rich rice bran to build them up so they can contribute to the country's dire shortage of milk, and adding a new customer a pregnant lady to the list of those requiring a bottle of milk delivered each day.
I forgot to mention, a new calf saved from the Dematagoda Mas Kade was given to us to bring up, with some local people paying 18,000 to save from veal. Actually it is another sad case of cheating the gullible, as the butcher buys this calf for 3,000 the meat value and sells it for six times to those who want to save an animal for vesak, allowing the butcher to buy more animals for the slaughterhouse, thanks to the generosity of those who want to save them from that fate!! do you see the irony?
