The Poda Thurpu of Telangana, Nari of Rajasthan and Gujarat, Sweta Kapila of Goa, Himachali Pahari of Himachal Pradesh, Purnea of Bihar, Dagri of Gujarat, Masilum of Meghalaya, Thutho of Nagaland, Kathani of Maharashtra and Sanchori of Rajasthan are 10 cattle species among 28 indigenous animal breeds that have been registered in last three years.

The Thutho cattle is an indigenous breed found in Nagaland, which is generally not milked, though her average daily yield ranges from 0.5-1.5 litre. Thutho cattle are medium-sized, hardy, well-built and docile, and predominantly black. But Thutho bulls are darker in colour.

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) on Thursday distributed certificates of registration to applicants of these indigenous breeds, which were registered in 2020, but could not be given certificates due to the pandemic.

Addressing the event virtually, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said: “Almost half of the country’s livestock is still non-descript. We have to identify such unique breeds so that they can be saved.”

Tomar said the task is not easy and cannot be accomplished without the cooperation of State Universities, Animal Husbandry Departments and NGOs as ICAR has initiated documentation of all the animal genetic resources of the country in collaboration with these agencies. He hoped that all the agencies will fulfill the mission of documenting indigenous animal genetic resources in the country.

Animal breeds have been registered by the ICAR since 2008. Till date, 212 native breeds, which include 53 for cattle, 20 for buffalo, 37 for goat, 44 for sheep, 7 for horses and ponies, 9 for camel, 13 for pig, 3 for donkey, 3 for dog, 1 for yak, 19 for chicken, 2 for duck and 1 for geese, have been registered so far.

Of the 28 animal breeds for which certificates were distributed, 10 breeds are of cattle, five of pig, four of buffalo, three each of goat and dog, one each of sheep, donkey and duck. The applicants were agriculture scientists, state universities, livestock farmers, NGOs who got these indigenous species registered. “This may help a particular region to secure a Geographical Indication (GI) tag as the committee that approves these registration goes through a detailed verification of each applications,” said P K Raut, an additional director general of ICAR.

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