June 18, 2009
India livestock breeds on a steady decline
A significant number of India's indigenous breeds such as cattle and poultry are threatened and showing declining trends, according to India's Fourth National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
The report said India has 485 million of livestock and 489 million of poultry.
There are 30 breeds of cattle, 10 of buffaloes and 18 of poultry, but animal husbandry has intensified in India over the years, with the widespread introduction of exotic breeds leading to the reduction in total genetic variability and population size of many local breeds, the report pointed out.
The report said about 20 percent of cattle and nearly all poultry breeds are threatened.
The National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR) is currently undertaking programmes for identification, evaluation, characterisation, conservation and sustainable utilisation of animal genetic resources.
Various steps have been taken to protect and check the bio-piracy of indigenous animal genetic resources, including allotment of accession numbers to each of the existing breeds.
Another factor contributing to the trend is that only a few indigenous breeds of cattle and buffalo are maintained at state-owned organised farms, where information on growth and production are recorded.
