Government set to unveil 28 new native livestock breeds

NEW DELHI: You may just be familiar with a few indigenous varieties of cattle such as Gir, Sahiwal, Tharparkar, Hariana and Red Sindhi along with a couple of others, but the 'desi' gene pool of different animals has a long list. The government will introduce 28 new native breeds on Thursday, taking the list of registered and fully documented indigenous livestock varieties to 222 which includes cows, dogs, buffaloes, pigs, donkeys and goats.
Identified and documented by different institutions under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), breed societies, universities and even individuals or NGOs, these 28 new varieties from 16 states will help livestock farmers to go for their commercial production to meet different requirements.
The list includes three new varieties of dogs which may reduce dependence of Indian security agencies on foreign-bred dogs for reconnaissance and other purposes. These are Rajapalayam (Virudhunagar district, Tamil Nadu), Chippiparai (Madurai district, Tamil Nadu) and Mudhol Hound (Vijayapura district, Karnataka).
"Gait of Mudhol Hound, with an aerodynamic body, gives an effortless stride, giving a flying appearance rather than running. These dogs can be used by our security agencies in difficult terrain," said P K Raut, assistant director general (animal production and breeding), ICAR.
He told TOI that registration and documentation of native varieties of different livestock would not only help Indian breeders preserve the country's gene pool but also go for commercial production of native breeds that are locally adapted and supposed to be climate resilient.