Berhampur: Veterinary surgeon Satyanarayan Kar and his team in Ganjam District Veterinary Office here were shocked when they found polythene bags weighing 50 kg inside a cow’s stomach. These non-degradable wastes were removed after two-hour surgery on Monday.

Kar said stray cattle often accidentally consume polythene which enters their stomach and because of which they develop a problem of indigestion. Subsequently, their digestion power reduces and the animals become sick. “It starts affecting their health and at times they also die because of the plastic waste,” he said.

The cow operated on Monday was lying on the road at Bada Sahi in Hillpatna here for the last three days amidst rain. The stomach of the cow was swelling and it was not able to stand up. The cow was shifted to the District Veterinary Office in an ambulance for animals after the people informed Sanjit Panigrahi, the local corporator of Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BeMC). The corporator requested Lalatendu Chowdhury, member of the District Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), to attend to the sick cow till it recovers.

Now the condition of the cow is stable, said Kar. The cow would further stay at the Veterinary Hospital for at least four days for post-operative care. Kar and his team are taking care of the cow.

People dump plastic wastes on the roadside or throw them away after consuming their meals and the cattle consume it subsequently. “We must ban polythene and save the cattle,” said Kar.

In a similar incident, a Veterinary surgeon and his team in Ganjam District Veterinary Office found polythene bags weighing 15 kg inside a cow’s stomach in April 2022. The cow was lying at Bidyanagar near Courtpeta Square for two days with a swelling stomach and was not able to stand up.

Thirty-kg polythene was extracted from the stomach of a cow which was lying in pain at Giri Road in Berhampur for two days in August 2023.

A cow was injured seriously after a bomb exploded inside her mouth at Kendupata village, 7 km away from Khallikote, in January 2021. Another cow was injured seriously after a bomb exploded inside her mouth at Fulta village under Rangeilunda block in Ganjam district in August 2023. A needle of the syringe pierced through the upper jaw of a cow on MKCG Medical College campus in October 2022. A sharp blade was pulled out from the mouth of a stray cow on the MKCG Medical campus with the help of a physician of MKCG in May 2023, sources said.

Animal lovers have expressed their concern over such increasing incidents.