India Adds Hill Cattle Breed to Indigenous Breeds List
INDIA - India has added nine genetic lines of farm animals to its list of indigenous breeds. Newly enlisted livestock include one breed of cattle, two breeds each of goat and sheep, three breeds of pig, and one poultry breed, writes Basudev Mahapatra.Of the animals registered this year, the ‘Badri cattle’ (pictured above), seen in the hilly areas of Uttarakhand, are “well adapted to the hilly terrain and climatic conditions and comparatively more resistant to diseases,” a release issued by the government said.
Two goat breeds include the ‘Teressa Goat’ of the Nicobar Islands and the ‘Kodi Adu Goat,’ native to Thoothukudi and Ramanathapuram districts of Tamil Nadu.
While the breed of ‘Chevaadu sheep’ is found in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu, the ‘Kendrapada sheep’ is seen in the coastal districts of Odisha.
Among the three pig breeds, the ‘Tenyi Vo pig’ is reared in Nagaland for pork production. The ‘Nicobari pig’ is a fast runner variety from the Nicobar Islands and the ‘Doom pig,’ with a short concave snout, is native to the Assam state.
The poultry breed enlisted this year is the ‘Kaunayen chicken’ that has an elongated body with a long neck and long legs. Used for cock-fighting as well, this breed is mostly seen in the north-eastern valley regions of India.
With the fresh registration, the total number of indigenous breeds in the country becomes 160 comprising 40 cattle, 13 buffalo, 26 goat, 42 sheep, 6 horses and ponies, 9 camel, 6 pig, 1 donkey and 17 chicken breeds.
Such registration of breeds creates a sense of ownership among local communities responsible for development of breeds and helps in inventorization, improvement, conservation and sustainable utilization of animal genetic resources, said Dr Trilochan Mohapatra, Director General of Indian Council for Agricultural Research.
TheCattleSite News Desk