Kathmandu, April 22 The Supreme Court has issued an order in the name of the government stating that it should act immediately to ensure protection of stray animals, especially cows, oxen and their calves. Advocate Padam Bahadur Shrestha, on March 3, had filed a writ petition at the apex court naming the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, and the Department of Livestock Services, among others, as defendants. Shrestha had demanded an end to the ill-treatment and cruelty towards stray cattle, especially cows and oxen. He had urged the government to protect them from hunger and diseases, and provide them safe shelters. In his petition, Shrestha had stated the significance of cows by mentioning Article 9(3) of the constitution that regards the cow as the national animal. Further in the writ, he had pointed out how cows, oxen and their calves were abandoned once the cattle stopped giving milk or ploughing the field, and sought mandamus or any other appropriate decree to discourage the trend of abandoning cows and oxen after their utility came to an end. A joint bench of justices Ananda Mohan Bhattarai and Puroshattam Bhandari had issued the mandamus order yesterday, which directed the government to work properly to abide by the law that seeks protection of animals, including the national animal. Section 289 of the Criminal Code Act has barred people from slaughtering cows and oxen. Similarly, section 117 of the act does not allow anyone to abandon domestic animals after they become old or useless. Similarly, section 290 bars people from indulging in any kind of cruelty against animals. With the SC’s order, all the government bodies will now have to work to ensure protection of stray cows. Moreover, the government also has to make sure that the general public are abiding by the laws to ensure safety of cows, oxen and their calves. Shrestha in his writ had mentioned that killing of cows and oxen would create religious disharmony as majority of the country’s population is Hindu, who worship the cow as a symbol of Goddess Laxmi. Speaking to The Himalayan Times advocate Shrestha said the SC order would compel the government to take necessary steps to ensure the safety of stray animals, including cows and oxen.