Badri cow gets indigenous tag
Tribune News Service
Dehradun, August 23
Badri cow, indigenous to Uttarakhand, has made it to the list of indigenous breeds of cow in the country.
Dr Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary of the Department of Agricultural Research, handed over the certificate to Dr PS Bhandari, Chief Veterinary Officer of the Animal Husbandry Department of Uttarakhand, in Delhi today, registering Badri as one of indigenous cattle breeds.
With this, there are now 40 indigenous breeds of cows in the country. These include Gir of Gujarat, Tharparkar of Rajasthan, Ongole of Andhra Pradesh and Sahiwal of Punjab.
Badri is small in size having long legs and varied body colours mainly black, brown, red, white and grey. The cow is well adapted to the tough hilly terrain and climatic conditions and are comparatively more resistant to diseases. Estimated population of Badri cow in the state is around 16 lakh.
Chief Veterinary Officer Dr PS Bhandari said it was a major achievement for the state that Badri had finally been certified as one of indigenous cattle breeds of the country. He said it would help in promoting the Badri breed.
The Indian Council of Agricultural Reserach had constituted a Breed Registration Committee in 2008 that certifies indigenous breeds. Its aim is to recognise the need for an authentic national documentation system of valuable sovereign genetic resource with known characteristics. The Breed Registration Committee in its meeting on June 21 had approved the registration of Badri cattle as an indigenous breed of the country.
