If they only have 20 cows then they probably live with a very low (very, very low) income. Put yourself in these folks shoes, and while I don't condone it, I do understand it. They probably don't even have health insurance, I know several of my friends from rural areas didn't. A cow gets sick, ok we'll keep an eye on it. But if it's still producing milk, why pay the money to put the cow on medication (when you won't be able to use it's milk during treatment and lose the money from that too) when you can just let it recover on it's own and still get the milk from it.

1 cow may not seem like it produces a lot of milk, but if you think that these people are relying on only 20 total, then it's a bit more understandable.

Sad, nonetheless.

K.