Published on 12:00 AM, March 20, 2021

Anti-social enterprise issues half-baked apology for refusing Gaur a job at dairy farm

Pillage a Village, one of the country's largest dairy farms, yesterday expressed regret over the "unfortunate" experience of a Gaur who was refused a job at their dairy farm, over what the Gaur claimed was "blatant speciesism."

"The negative interview experience faced by a prospective candidate at one of our interview boards -- which doesn't even deal with our tea estates -- is unfortunate and does not comply with our values," a spokesperson for the dairy farm said.

When asked what they meant by their "values", the spokesperson said, "Empowerment. Justice. Profits."

"We have contacted the Gaur and expressed our regret," they said, after a video of the interviewee sharing her experience went viral on social media.

In a viral video, a Gaur, a bovine considered to be at a vulnerable stage and only found in a few pockets of the country's few pockets of forested areas, alleged that Pillage a Village's interview board had refused to hire her because she did not agree to loose her muscles and make her appearance that befitting a timid cow.

"I can produce up to one and one-and-a-half litres of milk a day. My milk is considered to be nutritionally superior than cow or goat milk," the Gaur said.

 "As a vulnerable species, much like students in our country who have to work hard to pay through school, I wanted the job to help my family. I even requested them for any other position where I could fit, but they said no, that I had too many muscles," said the Gaur.

The video went viral on social media soon, drawing calls to boycott the anti-social enterprise.

"As an equal opportunity employer, Pillage a Village upholds cow dignity and inclusion rights for all, regardless of species," the spokesperson for Pillage a Village said.

"Muscles are never considered in our recruitment decision, until this particular case. In our team, comprising more than 50,000 cows, we have bovines from all over the world, but not a gaur," they added.

When asked what the statement meant and if they were going to hire the Gaur or not, the spokesperson said, "We will ensure that our interview boards are conducted to reflect our values and will also hold sensitivity training for our staffers."

When asked again whether the Gaur will be hired and whether this obvious case of discrimination will be stopped, the spokesperson said that any Gaur who feels they had been improperly judged during an interview can contact the organisation's human resources department via email.

When asked once again whether the Gaur will be hired, or whether such a policy of not hiring Gaurs was actually in place, the spokesperson said, "We want our conduct to reflect our core values of empowerment, justice and profits."

When this exasperated journalist asked the spokesperson to reply either in the negative or positive, the spokesperson immediately said the word "positive".  

No more answers were forthcoming.