India encourages people to hug cows on Valentine’s day. According to a report by The Hindu, the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) has issued a notice urging people to observe “Cow Hug Day” on February 14. The AWBI claims that doing so will promote “emotional richness” and increase “individual and collective happiness.”
In its appeal issued to the public quoted by the paper, the advisory body described Valentine’s Day as the “dazzle of Western civilization” and said that “Vedic traditions are almost on the verge of extinction due to the progress of Western culture over time.”
“In view of the immense benefit of the cow, hugging with cow will bring emotional richness and hence will increase our individual & collective happiness (sic). Therefore, all the cow lovers may also celebrate February 14 as Cow Hug day keeping in mind the importance of mother cow and making life happy and full of positive energy,” the report quoted the body as saying in its appeal.
India encourages people to hug cows on Valentine’s day as the welfare board called the cow the “backbone of Indian culture and rural economy”, adding that the animal represents “cattle wealth and biodiversity.”
