The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has been receiving an influx of messages from sadhus from across the country demanding that the cow be declared the national animal. A report by The New Indian Express states that the number of messages that the MoEF has been receiving is so large that the staff has been facing problems maintaining a record of them. The report further adds that each day, the ministry receives cartons and gunny bags filled with letters and clippings from scriptures from sadhus stating their demands. Most of the messages, which stress that the cow is worshipped in India as "mother" and there is a need to protect her, are being sent by Hindu groups in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. However, it is not the MoEF, but the Ministry of Home Affairs that deals with national declarations and the latter has been informed about the issue. The tiger has been the national animal of India since 1972.