As you know, one of Animal Rahat’s goals is to end the use of nose ropes. When bulls are young, their septums are pierced and a rope is threaded through the hole and tied tightly behind their ears. From that moment on, they never have a moment of complete comfort. The harshest pain comes when the rope is yanked on to direct the bullocks’ movements. But even when they are simply resting or grazing, they still feel the nose rope’s constant pressure and irritation.

Over the years, Animal Rahat has persuaded thousands of bullock owners to replace nose ropes with comfortable harnesses called “morkees”—as worn in the photo below by bullocks Mojya and Shikarya (pictured with their owner, Mr. Landage).

Earlier this year, Mr. Landage had asked an Animal Rahat veterinary assistant to examine Mojya, who was having problems with one of his eyes. The assistant determined that he had eye cancer—a common problem for cattle in India—and made an appointment for him to receive treatment from Animal Rahat’s veterinarians. He asked Mr. Landage to remove Mojya’s nose rope in the meantime in order to make the bullock more comfortable. At first, the man refused to do so and insisted that Mojya was dangerous and couldn’t be handled without the nose rope, but he eventually relented.

Our veterinary assistant then demonstrated how grooming Mojya with a brush was a better way to handle him. Grooming is a form of positive reinforcement that increases bullocks’ trust, decreases their fear, increases their bond with their owners, and makes them calmer and more likely to obey commands. A few days later, a team of Animal Rahat vets surgically removed Mojya’s cancerous eye, and he made a full recovery.