The Corbett Foundation’s stall feeding program reached 71 households of Baherakhar village situated in Kanha Tiger Reserve.
Through the initiative, 257 adult cattle and buffalos and 55 calves were stall fed during the year.
The project helps provide fodder, grown on private land, to cattle owners who are encouraged to adopt stall-feeding for their cattle instead of the traditional free grazing that they have been practicing.
A beneficiary with his cow
Free grazing of cattle in and around Tiger Reserves puts a lot of pressure on the forest by affecting regeneration, creating resource competition with wild herbivores, increasing the risk of spreading diseases among wild animals, and enhancing the risk of human-wildlife conflict. Additionally, as part of the project, a para-vet has been appointed to treat cattle injured by large carnivore attacks. This helps reduce retaliatory attacks on large carnivores.
Para-Vet examining the cattle
Positive outcomes of the project:
-96% of the beneficiaries who stall fed their cattle did not send their cattle for free grazing
-92% of the beneficiaries reported that the overall fitness of their cattle has improved after they started stall-feeding them
-The para vet attended to 22 cases of cattle injured due to conflict with large carnivores due to which retaliatory attacks were prevented.
