Hello,
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Remember the Lumpy Skin Disease outbreak that hit the cows a couple of years back? The government sprang into action then, throwing resources and money at the problem. 

But here’s the thing: while they focused on the cows, a silent crisis unfolded in piggeries across the country, severely affecting Dalit and tribal communities who rely heavily on pig farming for their income.

The stark disparity in government response is what sparked our reporter Alok Rajput’s interest. A special grantee of our inaugural TRC Investigative Reporting Fellowship, Alok visited Dalit settlements in UP, filed RTIs and went through government records for more than three months for his long investigation.

He dug deep, and what he found was deeply concerning. Funding for crucial pig disease control programs had been slashed, leaving pig farmers vulnerable. Meanwhile, resources for cow protection saw a significant boost. It's hard not to feel like some animals are more equal than others in the eyes of the government, right? 

This has had devastating consequences. Pig rearers have lost their entire herds and investments to pig diseases that went undiagnosed for lack of testing by the government. The livelihoods of families from Ghaziabad to Agra were completely wiped out, all because the system ignored their plight while addressing that of others.

Alok has compiled a comprehensive investigation, and it's packed with evidence that exposes this blatant bias. Click here to dive deeper.

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Best regards,
Furquan Ameen,
Editor, The Reporters’ Collective