Cows with lethal leukemia in Tatarstan have become much smaller, analysts at the Russian Ministry of Agriculture say. To reduce the percentage of sick livestock to a minimum, the regional authorities turned to tricks: they exchange sick animals from farms for healthy ones.

It is known that today in Russia more than ten percent of all cows in the country suffer from leukemia. With this disease, which occurs in cows without pronounced symptoms, malignant tumors grow in the circulatory system and in various organs. This disease in animals and humans is also called "blood cancer."

Given that cows play a major role in the country's dairy production, the problem of cow mortality is quite acute.

Given these factors, the government of Tatarstan found it expedient to compensate livestock breeders for the delivery of leukemia-affected cows and the purchase of healthy animals in return.