---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Cow-slaughter can never be stopped by law."
description: "\"Cow-slaughter can never be stopped by law.\" — Mahatma Gandhi"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b96/mahatma-gandhi-23_cows_cow-slaughter-can-never-be-stopped-by-la_1051757.jpg"
---

#  Cow-slaughter can never be stopped by law.

![“Cow-slaughter can never be stopped by law.” quote by Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b96/mahatma-gandhi-23_cows_cow-slaughter-can-never-be-stopped-by-la_1051757.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b96/mahatma-gandhi-23_cows_cow-slaughter-can-never-be-stopped-by-la_1051757.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b96/mahatma-gandhi-23_cows_cow-slaughter-can-never-be-stopped-by-la_1051757.jpg)

> “Cow-slaughter can never be stopped by law.”

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Legal measures alone cannot stop practices rooted in cultural or economic forces; deeper societal change is needed.

**In simple terms:** Law alone can't stop certain practices.

Key Takeaway

Address underlying causes, not just legal bans.

Themes

violence law culture economics

Mood

determined hopeful

Type

activist ethical

When to use this quote

- animal rights activism
- environmental policy
- public health campaigns

Key Concepts

non‑violence social change ethics

Questions to Reflect On

- What cultural factors sustain this practice?
- How can education alter attitudes?

A Different Perspective

Legal enforcement may be ineffective without cultural shift.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slaughter/)

## Related quotes

> [Cow-slaughter and man-slaughter are in my opinion two sides of the same coin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/cow-slaughter-and-man-slaughter-are-in-my-opinion-two-sides-of-the/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [To put the flesh of an animal into one's belly makes one an accessory after the fact of its slaughter, simply because if cows,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kapleau/to-put-the-flesh-of-an-animal-into-one-s-belly-makes-one-an-accessory/)

[Philip Kapleau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kapleau/)

> [Im's offspring stare at stars and make clocks that calculate useless happenings like the angle of a hawk's claws as it strikes its prey.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/im-s-offspring-stare-at-stars-and-make-clocks-that-calculate-useless/)

[Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/)

> [I've been vegetarian since the 80s and, lately, even vegan. And I once happened to witness the slaughter of a cow. What atrocity must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-kiedis/i-ve-been-vegetarian-since-the-80s-and-lately-even-vegan-and-i-once/)

[Anthony Kiedis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-kiedis/)

> [When a cow lives with the butcher, sooner or later he gets eaten unless he helps the other cows off to their slaughter. (Nick)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/when-a-cow-lives-with-the-butcher-sooner-or-later-he-gets-eaten/)

[Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/)

> [Way back in the 1970s, I was eating a steak, and I looked down, and for the first time it suddenly looked like flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-lumley/way-back-in-the-1970s-i-was-eating-a-steak-and-i-looked-down-and-for/)

[Joanna Lumley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-lumley/)

> [If I were over full of pity for the cow, I should sacrifice my life to save her but not take my brother's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/if-i-were-over-full-of-pity-for-the-cow-i-should-sacrifice-my-life-to/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [My religion teaches me that I should, by my personal conduct, instill into the minds of those who might hold different views the conviction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/my-religion-teaches-me-that-i-should-by-my-personal-conduct-instill/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [Mother cow expects from us nothing but grass and grain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/mother-cow-expects-from-us-nothing-but-grass-and-grain/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [Mother cow is as useful dead as when she is alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/mother-cow-is-as-useful-dead-as-when-she-is-alive/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [When I see a cow, it is not an animal to eat, it is a poem of pity for me and I worship it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/when-i-see-a-cow-it-is-not-an-animal-to-eat-it-is-a-poem-of-pity-for/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [Man, through the cow, is enjoined to realize his identity with all that lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/man-through-the-cow-is-enjoined-to-realize-his-identity-with-all-that/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [By ahimsa we will be able to save the cow and also win the friendship of the English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/by-ahimsa-we-will-be-able-to-save-the-cow-and-also-win-the-friendship/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [We dance, we dance. You hold the thread of my soul. You spin, you spin. And you unravel the part from the whole. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/we-dance-we-dance-you-hold-the-thread-of-my-soul-you-spin-you-spin/)

[Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/)

> [Pain held no terror for him. Pain was, if not friend, then family, something he had grown up with in his crèche, learning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/pain-held-no-terror-for-him-pain-was-if-not-friend-then-family/)

[Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/)

## More by Mahatma Gandhi

> [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [Devotion required by the Gita is no soft-hearted effusiveness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/devotion-required-by-the-gita-is-no-soft-hearted-effusiveness/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [So long as we fear the outside world, we must cease to think of Swaraj.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/so-long-as-we-fear-the-outside-world-we-must-cease-to-think-of-swaraj/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [I do not want a kingdom, or heaven; what I want is to remove the trouble of the oppressed, the poor, and the needy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-a-kingdom-or-heaven-what-i-want-is-to-remove-the/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [Religions are not for separating men from one another, they are meant to bind them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/religions-are-not-for-separating-men-from-one-another-they-are-meant/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [I hold flesh-food to be unsuited to our species. We err in copying the lower animal world if we are superior to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-hold-flesh-food-to-be-unsuited-to-our-species-we-err-in-copying-the/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [“It was only in South Africa that I got over this shyness, though I never completely overcame it. It was impossible for me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/it-was-only-in-south-africa-that-i-got-over-this-shyness-though-i/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [“Where there is life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/where-there-is-life/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [If it was wrong to seek God in a stone, how was it right to seek Him in a book called the Gita, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/if-it-was-wrong-to-seek-god-in-a-stone-how-was-it-right-to-seek-him/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [The spirit of democracy cannot be established in the midst of terrorism, whether governmental or popular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-spirit-of-democracy-cannot-be-established-in-the-midst-of/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [Champions are made from something they have deep inside of them-a desire, a dream, a vison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/champions-are-made-from-something-they-have-deep-inside-of-them-a/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [My motto is "Unite now, today if you can; fight if you must. But in every case avoid British intervention."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/my-motto-is-unite-now-today-if-you-can-fight-if-you-must-but-in-every/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [I have no disciples, being myself an aspirant after discipleship and in search of a guru.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-have-no-disciples-being-myself-an-aspirant-after-discipleship-and/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [Man becomes not the lord and master of all creation but he is its servant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/man-becomes-not-the-lord-and-master-of-all-creation-but-he-is-its/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

[Explore all 3,284 Mahatma Gandhi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

## More Cows quotes

> [We were so poor as kids. I didn't even see a bathtub, running water, hot water, commode - we didn't have any of that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-robertson/we-were-so-poor-as-kids-i-didn-t-even-see-a-bathtub-running-water-hot/)

[Phil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-robertson/)

> [Cows are a lot smarter across the board than bulls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-haden-church/cows-are-a-lot-smarter-across-the-board-than-bulls/)

[Thomas Haden Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-haden-church/)

> [ Gonna rain like a cow pissin' on a flat rock" \[drugstore clerk to detective Virgil Flowers\] Dark of the Moon, p.7 ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sandford/gonna-rain-like-a-cow-pissin-on-a-flat-rock-drugstore-clerk-to/)

[John Sandford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sandford/)

> [In most agencies, account executives outnumber the copywriters two to one. If you were a dairy farmer, would you employ twice as many milkers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/in-most-agencies-account-executives-outnumber-the-copywriters-two-to/)

[David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/)

> [My dad's idea of punishment was to dress me up in all green to disguise me as grass, and then throw me in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-callen/my-dad-s-idea-of-punishment-was-to-dress-me-up-in-all-green-to/)

[Bryan Callen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-callen/)

> [To isolate mathematics from the practical demands of the sciences is to invite the sterility of a cow shut away from the bulls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pafnuty-chebyshev/to-isolate-mathematics-from-the-practical-demands-of-the-sciences-is/)

Pafnuty Chebyshev

> [Sometimes you look in a field and you see a cow and you think it's a better cow than the one you've got in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-ferguson/sometimes-you-look-in-a-field-and-you-see-a-cow-and-you-think-it-s-a/)

[Alex Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-ferguson/)

> [The thing that bothers me the most is the recklessness and greed of the local ranchers, who run too many cattle back here, choking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-haggard/the-thing-that-bothers-me-the-most-is-the-recklessness-and-greed-of/)

[Merle Haggard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-haggard/)

> [Spring comes with joyous laugh, and song, and sunshine, and the burnt sacrifice of the over-ripe boot and the hoary overshoe. The cowboy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-wilson-nye/spring-comes-with-joyous-laugh-and-song-and-sunshine-and-the-burnt/)

[Edgar Wilson Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-wilson-nye/)

> [Talking to animals' isn't a matter of words used, it is a matter of your thoughts, your expression, and above all the tone of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-woodhouse/talking-to-animals-isn-t-a-matter-of-words-used-it-is-a-matter-of/)

[Barbara Woodhouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-woodhouse/)

> [Learning is like a cow of desire. It, like her, yields in all seasons. Like a mother, it feeds you on your journey. Therefore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chanakya/learning-is-like-a-cow-of-desire-it-like-her-yields-in-all-seasons/)

[Chanakya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chanakya/)

> [The velocity of light occupies an extraordinary place in modern physics. It is lèse-majesté to make any criticism of the velocity of light. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-standen/the-velocity-of-light-occupies-an-extraordinary-place-in-modern/)

[Anthony Standen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-standen/)

> [The friendly cow, all red and white, I love with all my heart; She gives me cream with all her might, To eat with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-friendly-cow-all-red-and-white-i-love-with-all-my-heart-she-gives/)

[Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/)

> [We are shut up in school and college recitation rooms for ten to fifteen years, and come out at last with a bellyful of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-are-shut-up-in-school-and-college-recitation-rooms-for-ten-to/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [Every lecture should state one main point and repeat it over and over, like a theme with variations. An audience is like a herd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gian-carlo-rota/every-lecture-should-state-one-main-point-and-repeat-it-over-and-over/)

[Gian-Carlo Rota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gian-carlo-rota/)

Browse all 903 Cows quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Cow-slaughter can never be stopped by law.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Mahatma Gandhi"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/cow-slaughter-can-never-be-stopped-by-law/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Cows"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/cow-slaughter-can-never-be-stopped-by-law/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b96/mahatma-gandhi-23_cows_cow-slaughter-can-never-be-stopped-by-la_1051757.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b96/mahatma-gandhi-23_cows_cow-slaughter-can-never-be-stopped-by-la_1051757.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b96/mahatma-gandhi-23_cows_cow-slaughter-can-never-be-stopped-by-la_1051757.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Cow-slaughter can never be stopped by law.” — Mahatma Gandhi",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Mahatma Gandhi",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Cow-slaughter can never be stopped by...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/cow-slaughter-can-never-be-stopped-by-law/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/cow-slaughter-can-never-be-stopped-by-law/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
