Decline in indigenous cow population: Supreme Court issues notice to Centre, states

New Delhi, May 6

The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the Centre and states on a petition seeking steps to educate farmers and livestock owners about benefits of indigenous cattle and long-term harmful effects and un-sustainability of rearing exotic/crossbred cattle.

A Bench led by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana issued notice on a petition by Divya Reddy, an Indigenous Cattle conservationist and the Founder of a Gaushala called Klimom Wellness and Farms having over 250 Gir Cows, who submitted that Indigenous Breeds have been reared in India for thousands of years and have always been an integral part of our traditions and culture.

“Over the past few decades, India’s single-minded pursuit of increasing milk production has resulted in a steady decline in the population of its Indigenous Breeds with a simultaneous manifold increase in the number of exotic/crossbreeds, as evidenced by a bare perusal of the various Livestock Censuses issued by the Central government from time to time,” the petitioner submitted.

From the 20th Livestock Census in 2019, the total population of cattle in India is 19,34,62,871, out of which exotic/crossbred cattle was 5,13,56,405 and indigenous cattle was 14,21,06,466, Reddy pointed out.

“They cannot be allowed to be marginalised at the cost of Exotic/Foreign Cattle only for the sake of increasing milk production. Indigenous Cattle have various other benefits and attributes that contribute to the Indian society and economy that cannot be found in Exotic/ Foreign Cattle,” the petition contended.

The plea elaborates that currently there are two species of cattle used in India are the Indigenous Breeds which have existed in India for thousands of years and the exotic/foreign cattle which have been imported/ whose semen has been artificially inseminated into Indigenous Breeds, in a bid to increase milk production.

The petition sought directions to the respondents to make available and adequately distribute semen of indigenous breeds for the purpose of artificially inseminating non-descript cattle.

It also wanted the top court to declare the action of the governments in promoting and encouraging artificial insemination of non-descript cows using semen from ‘exotic’ foreign breeds such as Holstein Friesian and Jersey, including through their breeding policies, as being arbitrary and not in consonance with Article 48 of the Constitution of India.