After listening to Rajasthan Education Minister Vasudev Devnani, one understands why not to take a WhatsApp forward too seriously or at least not quote them in public.

According to the Indian Express, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Minister said that cows are the only animal which inhales and exhales oxygen. In an event at the government-owned Hingonia Gaushala in Jaipur that emphasised the “scientific significance” of the cow.

“Gai ekmatra prani hai jo oxygen grahan karta hai, aur oxygen his chodta hai (The cow is the only animal that takes in oxygen and also releases oxygen),” said Devnani. He added, “there is a need to understand the scientific significance of the cow and ensure that the message reaches all people…”

The statement goes against the claims of United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) made in a report in 2006, “Livestock are one of the most significant contributors to today’s most serious environmental problems.” The livestock sector, which includes cows, generates “more greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalent – 18 percent – than transport.”

Clearly a UNESCO approved animal.