Traffickers bring the cows by truck to West Bengal from as far as Haryana and Punjab in northern India. “The traffickers have a strong network in the border villages, where the cattle are kept in transit, before being sent across the border,” said BSF official in Murshidabad, Surinder Singh. “Locals are paid for that, so they have a vested interest in the smuggling. These ID cards can help us easily identify the cattle brought for smuggling.” 

People in border villages say having their cattle photographed is a problem because it requires them to take time off work.

But they have agreed to the identity cards to avoid harassment by the BSF and police who often raid villages in search of cattle waiting to be smuggled to Bangladesh slaughterhouses.

Authorities say crime syndicates find it easy to tamper with branding or tattooing of the cattle – hence the idea for photo identity cards which should be difficult to falsify.

Valid for two years, each laminated cattle ID card displays the picture of the animal and its owner. It also carries vital information about the animal, such as its colour, height, sex and length of horns.

It carries the owner’s name and address and sometimes other details about the animal – like one “horn missing” or “half tail lost”.
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