Saving the Cheruvally cattle breed
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 number of Cheruvally
cattle. Indiscriminate cross-breeding has seriously affected the
country’s animal genetic resources. A comprehensive breed descriptor has
to be developed for Cheruvally cattle, the manner it was done for
Vechur cow,’ said Dr. Iype. The Cheruvally cow, she explained, was a
locally-adapted, heat-tolerant, disease-resistant and low-maintenance
breed. It yields about 2 litres of milk daily.
“I
conducted a preliminary survey, with the help of Joby George, K. C.
Jayan and Jayan Joseph. Local farmers Lijo, Benoy, Minosh and Suresh
helped. We found that there are about 4,000 Cheruvally cattle in the
Kottayam region. The main problem is that the bulls are crossbreds. They
dilute the genetic make-up of native animals. The Cheruvally cattle
breed when they graze. Hence, there is no record of mating,” stated Dr.
Iype.
She said the relevance of Cheruvally and Vechur
cows was increasing by the day with reports of crossbreeds, despite
their high milk production, being prone to diseases and less adapted to
tropical climate.
“We need to conserve the
low-maintenance native breeds as there is insufficient fodder in our
land. The prevalence of foot-and-mouth disease and the like makes things
worse for dairy farmers. Vechur and Cheruvally are ideal to be kept in
your backyard. The keepers need not spend much for the maintenance of
the animals. The cows yield enough milk for domestic use. There will be
some left for sale too,” she added.
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