sixty million households or some 320 million Indians live below the so-called poverty line. In Andhra Pradesh ( ap ) alone, 16 per cent or one in every six persons come from a family unable to afford two square meals a day. For these people, the much-maligned goat is a crucial means of survival. But they are now being forced to give up this livelihood.

Through the years, state policies in ap have systematically attempted to force people to stop rearing goats. The animal husbandry department has no policy on goats other than one that actively discourages their grazing. However, there is a subtle difference in the state government's