India plans to tag millions of cows

India could issue millions of cows with unique identification numbers, the latest effort to protect the sacred animals amid a spike in violence by Hindu vigilantes against farmers accused of cattle smuggling.

The government has told the Supreme Court that millions of cows will be tagged with a tamper-proof plastic tag linked to a national database in a bid to curb smuggling within India and beyond its borders.

Cows are considered sacred in Hindu-majority India, and their slaughter is a punishable offence in many states.

"Each animal will have a unique number that will have details like age, breed and special marks," a senior official said.