Positive Exploitation of Indigenous Cattle Breed in Indian Context

Cattle are considered to have been one of the first animals domesticated by man for agricultural purposes. They were tamed to provide milk, meat and hides and for draft purposes. There are fourty recognized breeds of cattle in India, in addition to large number of non-descript cattle. In recent times, several of the indigenous breeds suffered decline mainly due to their becoming uneconomical. Draught breeds utility has decreased because of mechanization in agriculture. In this book I took a case study of Gangatiri that is an indigenous cattle breed of India. It is known to be originated in the region along the banks of Ganga river in eastern Uttar Pradesh and western parts of Bihar state. This case study was taken because populations need immediate attention, failing which our ancestral efforts of artificial selection, operative since time immemorial, may go in vain and there may be a non-repairable loss of environment as well as eco-friendly genes from the national and world gene pool. This study was undertaken because Information on physical characterization of indigenous animal is limited in India and less information is available on physical characteristics of Gangatiri.