Indian Indigenous Cattle

Bid to reclaim land for Umbalacherry breed The Hindu Umbalacherry cattle in its home tract at Thalainayar in Nagapattinam. Photo: B. Velankanni Raj TOPICS India Tamil Nadu agriculture livestock farming “When my cows die, I bury them like I would a family member. I can never sell them,” says Balashanmugam, distantly looking at his fenced cattle. For him, the possibility of sold cows changing hands to slaughter houses in Kerala is the biggest fear. Balashanmugam literally waits till the cows come home. The 68-year-old farmer, with a family strength of three, owns over 50 Umbalacherry cattle. And he waits for the cows to return from grazing. Like him, an entire panchayat waits for the cows to come home. Welcome to Umbalacherry panchayat — the home tract of Umbalacherry breed of cattle, here in Thalainayar. Often seen as the pride of Tamil Nadu, the draught cattle is a boon to marshy soils due to its sturdiness and ability to labou...

Breed is a boon in times of drought Umbalacherry cattle, on its home tract, at Umbalacherry, in Thalainayar, in Nagapattinam.FILE PHOTO: B. VELANKANNI RAJ A special cattle exhibition to promote Umbalacherry cattle breed, seen as the pride of Tamil Nadu, was organised here on its home turf in Umbalacherry in Thalainayar on Saturday. The draught cattle, known for its sturdiness, agility in marshy soil, and ability for long hours of labour, were widely seen as disease-resistant and farm-friendly in clayey areas of the delta. Here at Umbalacherry, each household owns not less than two cows. The exhibition was held with the objective of protecting the draught cattle from turning extinct and to urge farmers to take to Umbalacerry cattle breeding. The cattle with morphological features of white stockings; white diamond mark on the forehead and tufted tail end, mark it distinctly from the ordinary cattle. For the people of Umbalacherry, the breed is a boon in ti...

Exhibition of Umbalacherry bulls 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...

GENETIC DIVERSITY AND BOTTLENECK ANALYSIS OF UMBLACHERY CATTLE BY MICROSATELLITE MARKERS   http://www.cibtech.org/J%20Biotechnology/PUBLICATIONS/2013/Vol-2-No-1/6-010...Thiagarajan...Genetic...Markers...28-33.doc.pdf

Biochemical and Fatty Acid Analysis of Faeces in Um blachery Cattle ( Bos Indicus ) During Different Phases of Estrous Cycle  http://www.isca.in/AVFS/Archive/v2/i1/1.ISCA-RJAVFS-2014-03.pdf

Saving the Cheruvally cattle breed The Cheruvally cow.   A major project for conservation of Cheruvally cattle has been started by the Vechur Conservation Trust (VCT) with the financial support of the Kerala State Biodiversity Board. The objective is to get the Cheruvally cattle, indigenous to Cheruvally, Mundakkayam and Kanjirappally regions of Kottayam district, registered as a native breed with the National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources, the same way it was done for Vechur cow. Sosamma Iype, managing trustee of the VCT and former Professor of Animal Breeding and Genetics with the Kerala Agricultural University, is supervising the project. The Vechur cow was reportedly saved from extinction by the conservation efforts at the KAU under her leadership in the 1980s. Cheruvally cattle have been named so by her. In the past three years, the breed has been referred to by scientists by this name. A flawed breeding policy has brought down the...

http://www.zoosprint.org/ZooPrintMagazine/2011/June/6-7.pdf

UNDP project to protect Vechur cow Community plan for sustainable conservation Native breed:Vechur cow. A project of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been launched for community partnership in sustainable conservation of Vechur and other native cattle of Kerala. The launch of the project, being implemented by the Vechur Conservation Trust (VCT), coincides with the 25th anniversary of the establishment of a unit for conservation of Vechur cow at the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU). The unit is now a part of the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University. The Vechur cow, a rare breed of Bos indicus cattle, has an average length of 124 cm and height of 87 cm. According to the Guinness Book of Records, it is the smallest cattle breed in the world. It is a low-maintenance breed. In 2000, the Vechur cow was listed on the FAO’s World Watch List of Domestic Animal Diversity, in its ‘Critical-Maintained Breeds List’. Only about 200 Vec...

ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/012/v9939t/v9939t00.pdf