Indian Indigenous Cattle

CHANDIGARH: Haryana's Murrah buffalo has emerged as a much sought after animal in the world. With the Murrah's pedigree and machismo gaining popularity, demand for its semen is increasing all over the country. This has forced the Haryana government to boost the annual Murrah semen production capacity to 50 lakh straws (doses) from 32 lakh. Haryana's Murrah buffalo has emerged as a much sought after animal in the world. A Murrah buffalo can produce up to 32kg of milk a day, almost double of an ordinary buffalo. Murrah buffaloes became popular after 2010 Commonwealth Games when some of Haryana's medal-winning wrestlers claimed that this breed's milk was the secret behind their success. A good Murrah can fetch around Rs 2 lakh. Recently, an Andhra Pradesh farmer had bought a Murrah buffalo from Haryana for Rs 25 lakh. Newly-appointed director general of the animal husbandry department GS Jakhar said the Hissar-based semen centre...

A water buffalo in India was sold for a record price of 2.5 million rupees (about $41,200), at least ten times the normal price. The prized animal, named Lakshmi (after the Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity and beauty), belonged to Kapoor Singh, a farmer in the northern Indian state of Haryana, who sold it to another farmer in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. Lakshmi is a Murrah buffalo, a breed highly coveted for its high milk yield. For the price that Singh -- who lives in the village of Singhwa Khas in the Hisar district -- received, he could have purchased a small luxury automobile. He also made a huge profit on Lakshmi, since he initially purchased the buffalo for 250,000 rupees only two years ago. "I didn't want to sell [Lakshmi], but the new owner offered me the price I asked for,” Singh told BBC. “[The other farmer] had come last year and offered me 190,000 rupees, but I refused. He liked the buffalo so much that he made a video film [of]...

India is the world’s largest producer of milk. But in 10 years, we will be forced to start importing it. And the Indian cow will no longer exist. Jay Mazoomdaar investigates a looming disaster Photo: Vijay Pandey MILK IN INDIA , is not just a drink, it is an elixir. For almost every Indian — rich or poor — the idea of a daily glass of milk holds a potent and emotional charge. It speaks of parental devotion, well-being and health. This faith in the power of milk is well-grounded: it is the primary nutrient for the young and the old. Nearly 63 percent of animal protein in the Indian diet comes from dairy products. For vegetarians, there is simply no alternative. The idea of the cow, of course, is also emotively charged because of its mythical place in Hindu iconography, religion and culture: it is quite literally worshipped as goddess Kamdhenu: the cow of plenty. Premchand famously captured its centrality to Indian village life with his memorable tablea...

NEW DELHI: Some famous cow breeds of the Americas, including the iconic Texas Longhorn, have descended from Indian ancestors, a new genetic study reveals. Indian cows traveled to East Africa, then mixed with local cattle populations up to the North African coast. From there they were picked up and continued to intermingle with Spanish cattle. In 1493, Christopher Columbus took these Indian variants to the Caribbean on his second voyage. Then they spread to Mexico and Texas. The study by scientists of the universities of Texas (Austin) and Missouri (Columbia) was published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) this week. This bizarre journey of the Indian cow's genes is a reflection of human migration as cows have practically coexisted with human society. Cows were domesticated around 10,000 years ago in two regions - Turkey and India - from a wild species called aurochs which were up to two times larger than current ...

Owner of the buffalo, Kapoor Singh, a farmer invited over 2000 guests from across the state to attend the function at Singhwa Khas village in Hisar district. CHANDIGARH: A Haryana village is all decked up to give a grand farewell to a buffalo, which was recently sold for Rs 25 lakh to a farmer from Andhra Pradesh. Owner of the buffalo, Kapoor Singh , a farmer invited over 2000 guests from across the state to attend the function at Singhwa Khas village in Hisar district. The farewell party is expected to cost him around Rs 2 lakh. According to Singh, farmer Rajiv Sarpanch from Andhra Pradesh who bought the buffalo on Tuesday would arrive on Sunday to take the animal home. Sarpanch had spotted her at Muktsar cattle fair in Punjab. Special silver ornaments worth Rs 25,000 have also been bought to deck up Lakshmi, which was the show-stopper buffalo at the Murrah catwalk in Jind two years ago. Senior government functionaries, including director g...

An exhibition of Umbalacherry bulls is proposed to be organised in the district in August. A special consultative meeting in this regard between officials of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Umbalacherry cattle breeders was organised by the district administration here on Wednesday. Underlining the need to protect the breed from slow extinction, the farmers wanted the Umbalacherry variety to be declared a national breed. Collector T. Munusamy said the exhibition was mooted by the Chief Minister to encourage cattle breeders to protect the special breed. The exhibition envisages awareness rallies and prizes for well-kept cattle. One first prize of Rs.10,000 for the best bred bull, followed by two second prizes of Rs. 3,000 each, and four third prizes of Rs. 2,000 each. The contest will also include six consolation prizes of Rs.1,000 each. http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/exhibition-of-umbalacherry-bulls/article4934146.ece  

From 90,000 in the year 1995, the population of the breed in Madurai region has come down to 21,225 in 2012 Survival of the fittest:The Pulikulam cattle being grazed on a dry tank at Tirupparankundram in Madurai.— Photos: R. Ashok    Pulikulam cattle, an indigenous breed with distinct characteristics and known for its valour in ‘jallikattu’ (bull-taming sports), is on the verge of extinction. Only last year, thanks to the persistent efforts of Sustainable Agriculture and Environmental Voluntary Action (SEVA), this breed received recognition from the National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR), Karnal, Haryana, thereby making it the 35th registered indigenous cattle breed in the country. As per a survey, the population of Pulikulam cattle in and around Madurai has drastically come down from 90,000 in the year 1995 to 45,000 in 2006 to 21,225 in 2012. The number of places where the cattle was reared is also shrinking. A workshop conducte...

    Scientists and veterinarians from Bhutan with genetically pure Kangayam cattle during a visit to Kangayam in Tirupur district.    The Kangayam region, home of renowned Kangayam cattle breed, had 14 surprise visitors from Bhutan a few days ago. Sent by the Bhutanese government, they were livestock scientists and veterinarians from National Biodiversity Centre and from Department of Livestock and Agriculture, both under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests of Royal Government of Bhutan. Purpose of the visit was to understand the breeding techniques of the elegant native Kangayam cattle and to study more about its dung and urine, which possess immense properties as organic fertiliser, considering that Bhutan is one of the profound propagators of organic farming practices in the world. For that the entourage visited Senaapathy Kangayam Cattle Research Foundation (SKCRF) in Kangayam, the organisation involved in in-situ cons...

Efforts to save endangered wild animals like the tiger, are afoot today by enacting stringent laws for protecting them. “Even the house sparrow has attracted attention in bringing about a conservation movement. But sadly, for the livestock sector in Tamil Nadu not much attention is being paid to conserve its native cattle breeds,” says Mr.Karthikeya Sivasenapathy, Managing Trustee, Senaapathy Kangayam Cattle Research Foundation, Kuttapalayam, Erode. The foundation is situated in Kuttapalayam village, Palayakottai in the Kangayam taluk of Tirupur District (formerly Erode District), Tamil Nadu, and is ideal for cattle breeding.  Origin The Kangeyam breed derives it's name from Kangayam division of the taluk spreading from Erode, Karur, Namakkal and Dindigul districts where this breed has been in existence for a long time. The animals are medium in build although a few large specimens can be found. Considered to be a good draught breed in South India, the...

Despite the prevailing drought conditions and the resultant slump in the general demand for cattle because of lack in adequate fodder, the just concluded Kannapuram Kangayam cattle mela attracted 15,000 oxen, cows, and bulls of genetically pure Kangayam cattle breed. The almost 1,000-year-old mela is historically used by farmers and breeders to display and trade pure Kangayam cattle.  The event coincides with the annual temple car festival of the 11th century Vikramacholeesvara temple and the three-century-old Arulmigu Mariamman temple near Kangayam.  K.S.M. Karthikeya, managing trustee of Senaapathy Kangayam Cattle Research Foundation, which is involved in ‘in-situ conservation and breeding’ of genetically pure Kangayam cattle breed for almost six decades, told The Hindu that it was indeed heart-warming that around 60 per cent of the cattle brought by the farmers/breeders to the mela found buyers even in the midst of drought-dominated farming seas...

Media hype and unproven claims on medicinal value of its milk result in huge demand for Vechur cow Buying a Rolls-Royce Phantom would be easier than owning a Vechur cow, an endemic species of Kerala. One needs to wait for long and spend nearly Rs. 1 lakh to own the cow, considered the smallest of Indian cattle breeds. The market price of the cow ranges between Rs. 75,000 and Rs. 1.50 lakh, according to those dealing with the livestock. Even when one is willing to pay the hefty price, there is no guarantee that one will get a cow with pedigree. There were complaints of genetic pollution of the species, after calves bred with local ox varieties were sold as Vechur cows. The Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU) stopped accepting booking for the animal around four years ago as it could not meet the high demand. The KVASU, meanwhile, turned its attention to broadening the base stock of the animal in its cattle sheds. When the bookings were stopped, there were around 1,0...