牛の胃からごみ７１キロ　インド、汚染と「野良牛」の問題浮き彫りに

【ファリダバードＡＦＰ＝時事】インドで先月、妊娠中の牛の胃からプラスチックやくぎなどのごみ計71キロが摘出され、後にこの母牛と胎児は死んだ。同国の汚染と、飼い主のいない「野良牛」という2つの問題が改めて浮き彫りになった。（写真はインド・ファリダバードにある動物愛護団体の施設で、病気の牛に水を飲ませるスタッフ）
　ヒンズー教徒が多数を占める同国では、牛は聖なる動物とあがめられる。都市部に合わせて５００万頭の野良牛がいると推算されているが、その多くが路上に散乱する大量のプラスチックごみを食べている。
　動物愛護団体「ピープル・フォー・アニマルズ・トラスト・ファリダバード」は先月下旬、交通事故に遭った牛を救出。獣医師はすぐに、牛が妊娠しており、苦しんでいる様子に気付いた。
　同団体の代表は、先月２１日に４時間に及ぶ手術が行われ、この牛の胃からプラスチックごみやくぎ、ビー玉などが見つかったと明かし、「１３年間の経験の中で、１頭の牛から摘出されたごみの量としては最多だ…力づくで取り出す必要があった」と述べた。
　獣医師らは早期分娩（ぶんべん）を試みたが、胎児は母牛の体内に十分な成長スペースがなかったために死に、母牛もその３日後に死んだ。
　プラスチックごみを食べて死んだ牛の数の全国統計はない。ただ英字紙タイムズ・オブ・インディアは２０１７年、北部の都市ラクノーだけでも、年に約１０００頭が死んでいると報じている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/03/08-10:57）

Indian vets have extracted 71 kilograms (156.5 pounds) of plastic, nails and other garbage from a pregnant cow, but both the animal and her baby died.
The case has highlighted the country's twin problems of pollution and stray cattle.
An estimated five million cows roam India's cities, with many gorging on the vast amounts of plastic litter on the streets.
This cow was rescued after a road accident in late February by the People For Animals Trust Faridabad.
A vet soon noticed the pregnant bovine was struggling.
In a four-hour operation on February 21, vets found nails, plastic, marbles and other garbage in its stomach, said trust president Ravi Dubay.
They also attempted a premature delivery.
The baby did not have enough space to grow in her mother's belly so she died, Dubay told AFP.
Three days later, the cow also died.
In my 13 years of experience, this is the most garbage we have taken from a cow... we had to use muscle power to get it all out, Dubay said.
Previous surgeries done by the organisation based in the northern Indian state of Haryana have found up to 50 kilograms of waste in cows' stomachs.
The cow is very sacred for us, but no-one cares for their life. In every corner in every city they eat the waste, Dubay added.
- Revered -
Cows are revered in Hindu-majority India.
Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu-nationalist government, strictly enforced protection policies have resulted in more cows on the loose.
Attacks on individuals suspected of trading in cows have increased under Modi, according to rights groups.
Hindu vigilantes have assaulted and even killed people -- mostly Muslims and lower-caste Hindus -- for transporting beef, or being suspected of doing so.
As such, farmers have taken to abandoning rather than selling old or infirmed cows for slaughter.
Eating or slaughtering cows is banned in some states.
Romula D'Silva, vice-president of the Karuna Society for Animals & Nature in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, said the problem of garbage-eating cows affects every city in India, big or small.
Wherever there are cows on the streets, you can be sure they are full of plastic. My heart breaks for them as they can have very painful deaths, she told AFP.
Around a decade ago, 35 cows suddenly came into Karuna Society's care, according to D'Silva.
One unexpectedly died and a post-mortem examination revealed a mess of plastic and other garbage in its stomach.
Further surgeries on the remaining animals found that all of them had plastic in their abdomens.
Karuna Society has performed rumenotomies on around 60 cows since then, she said.
There is no official, nationwide data on how many cows die every year from ingesting plastic.
But in 2017, a Times of India report cited veterinary officials and animal welfare groups estimating that around 1,000 cows die annually just in the northern city of Lucknow from eating plastic.