Veterinary specialists are being called to treat stray cattle, who have been "eating chicken and fried fish", and "turn them into vegetarian once again", Goa minister for waste management Michael Lobo has said.

The move, he added, came after 76 stray cattle from Calangute Village, who have now been sent to a gaushala (cow shed), refused to eat gram or other vegetarian food.

"We have lifted 76 cattle from Calangute and taken them to the gaushala where they are being looked after. The cattle had turned non-vegetarian cattle here. We always say cattle are vegetarian. But cattle from Calangute are non-vegetarian. They (gaushala operators) are facing this issue now. These cattle do not eat grass. They neither eat gram nor special feed which is given to them," Lobo said while speaking at a function at Arpora village in North Goa on Saturday.

"The cattle at the gaushala are being medically treated. Veterinary specialists have been roped in to treat them with medicine. It will take four to five days to turn the cattle into vegetarians once again," he added.

The minister said it has been found that the cattle have been eating chicken and fried fish from the garbage and from villagers feeding them. "The cattle from Calangute and Candolim are used to eating non-vegetarian food like leftover chicken scraps and stale fried fish from the restaurants. Due to the consumption of such non-vegetarian food, their system has become like that of humans. Earlier, they were vegetarians, pure vegetarians. They would smell non-vegetarian food and move on, but now, they eat only non-vegetarian (food)," he said.



Lobo also said that the stray cattle have been shifted to the gaushalas following complaints that the animals are the main cause of accidents of two-wheelers and traffic. The cattle are being shifted to a cattle-pound owned by Gomantak Gosevak Mahasang trust in Mayem village.