The huge lump on this bullock’s neck is a yoke gall injury that has become infected and swollen to the size of a sack of potatoes. Yoke gall occurs when an ill-fitting yoke constantly rubs against the skin of a bullock’s neck. Can you imagine how painful a wound like this would be?

An Animal Rahat staffer spotted this bullock during routine scouting at a sugar mill. The owner, a Mr. Jadhav, had previously been given medicine to apply to the wound and was told to allow the bullock to rest. However, Jadhav took only half the advice—he applied the medicine but did not rest the bullock, which is why the injury got worse. When Jadhav did not respond to our admonitions, our scout approached the sugar mill yard supervisor, who agreed not to allow Jadhav to sell his sugar to the mill until the bullock had healed. Presto! Jadhav quickly changed his tune. Our veterinarians then surgically drained the wound (which contained literally liters of pus), provided medicinal ointment and painkillers, and ordered the owner to rest the bullock.

Securing this type of cooperation from sugar mill staff is a huge milestone for Animal Rahat. We’ve worked diligently for years to cultivate this kind of relationship with the sugar mills because, as seen in this example, they can exert financial pressure to get uncooperative owners to follow our instructions. Hurray!