Goa's Garbage Management Minister Michael Lobo has claimed that stray cattle in the state's tourism savvy coastal belt, which includes popular beach villages like Calangute and Candolim, have "turned non-vegetarian" and only eat scraps of chicken and fried fish.
Speaking to on Monday, BJP MLA from Calangute Lobo said that around 76 stray cattle from a village at his constituency impounded and relocated to a cow shelter, were refusing to eat vegetarian food.
"We have lifted 96 cattle from Calangute and taken them to the cow shelter run by the Gomantak Gosevak Mahasang in Mayem village. They are being looked after by the employees hired there. Stray cattle including bulls, cows, calves are vegetarian but now they have turned non-vegetarian as they have habituated to eat mixed waste dumped by restaurants which also consist of scraps of chicken and fish," Lobo told .
He said that specialist veterinarians have been appointed by the gaushala to medically treat the cattle with medicine. "Around four to five days will be needed to turn them into vegetarians," he said.
"To ensure that the next generation of cattle is good, they have been sent to cow shelters where they can receive treatment and be looked after. Veterinary doctors can look after them. They should be given vegetarian food. It will take them four to five days to turn them into vegetarians once again," Lobo said.
( With inputs from ANI )