Doctors remove 52 kgs of plastic waste from Cow’s stomach in Chennai

30th Oct 2020

On Saturday, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Science University removed 52 kilograms of plastic waste from a cow’s stomach, in a surgery that lasted more than five hours.

The cow had been suffering from problems in passing stool and urine. The cow’s milk yield had dropped significantly. Munirathnam, the owner was alarmed by the problem when the cow had been kicking its belly in pain for some time.

Munirathnam first consulted a local veterinarian and the cow was then brought from Thirumullaivoyal to Vepery. The Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Science University ran a few diagnostic tests which confirmed the presence of foreign substance inside the animal’s stomach. A team of doctors led by Dr Balasubramanian, Directorate of Clinics and Assistant professors of surgery Dr Sivashankar and Dr Velavan, along with other senior surgeons, performed the five-and-a-half-hour-long surgery. The doctors claimed that 75 % of the cow’s digestive system had plastic. “The surgeons had performed similar operations in the past, but 52 kg of waste inside the stomach of an animal is alarming,” Dr Balasubramanian said. The surgery would have cost between Rs 25,000 and Rs 30,000. However, the operation was conducted at Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Science University for Rs 70. This is a huge amount of savings for any person whose livelihood depends on these animals,” he said.

This is not the first time such an incident has taken place. The Plastic Cow Documentary reveals many such cases. 

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WHO IS REALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE 52 KG PLASTIC FOUND IN THE COW’S STOMACH? ARE WE NOT RESPONSIBLE AT ALL?

Every year 100,000 mammals and birds die from plastic ingestion, and more that 100,000 marine mammals die due to plastic pollution, as per reports from World Wildlife Fund. We have witnessed year on year, the rise in cases of animals reportedly dying due to plastic waste. Why should any animal have to suffer because we create plastic and fail to dispose it off? As a consumer, we need to understand that if we buy plastic products, we need to also dispose it off. As a manufacturer, we need to push companies to act responsibly and dispose the plastic products. There are sustainable alternatives available that can replace the plastic products, but manufacturers continue to create more plastic because people are indifferent or largely ignorant of the plastic problem and inspite of realising the consequences, they do not believe its their personal problem.  It’s time to curb plastic and save the planet, are you doing your part?