Introduction

Attention has been given by FAO to the cataloguing of geneth.:

stocks since 1946. During the early days of the Organization a

Standing Advisory emninittee on Agriculture was established to
assist in the planning of the Organization's prooTam of work. One
of the recommendations of that Committee, at its first meeting in
Copenhagen in 1946, was that catalogues of important genetic
stocks be established to facilitate the exchange of information and
of breeding materials, among plant and animal breeders. Obviousl-y

the approach to this problem in livestock must be different from

that in the plant field. Much progress has been ma.del in the establishment of catalogues of important genetic stocks, particularly
of wheat and rice, and a substantial amount of information has

already been published. With such material it is possible to

describe many genetic traits in detail, and to enter the information
on punch cards, thus making it possible to quickly locate stocks
having any desired characteristic or characteristics.
Specific knowledge of genetics in livestock is much more limited than in important crop plants, and the nature of the breeding

material is also such that it is not possible to maintain stocks

without heavy costs or to exchange them as freely as is possible
with plant material. 'However, owing to the great importaiice of
livestock production in human welfare, it was considered desirable to make a start in this field, even though the :available information is very limited.
The initial effort at assembling,- information on livestock, the
results of which are now published, has been concentrated on the
cattle of India and Pakista,n; firstly-, because of the over-riding
importance of cattle in relation to other types of livestock, taking
world agriculture as a whole; secondly, because of the particular
needs of tropical and sub-tropical areas for improved cattle production; and, thirdly, because of the special characteristics of
:many breeds in India and Pakistan which make them suitable for
use under tropical and sub-tropical conditions.

FIGURE 2. Cattle of Group I. The breeds classified in this Group

are lyre-horned gray animals with wide foreheads, prominent orbital arches
and a flat or dished-in profile. They are deep bodied, powerful draft animals.

A an.d B, a bull and a cow of Kankrej breed from Gujarat, Bombay,

India. C an.d D, a bull and a cow of the Hissar breed : it is not a pure
breed, Kankrej influmce being very prominent, and will probably be
extinct in the, near future. E and F, a bull and a cow of Kenwariya
or Kenkatha breed, which are powerful draft anima1,4.

FIGURE 3. Other vreeds of Group I. G and H, a bull and a cow

of the Kherigarh breed from Uttar Pradesh, used for light draft and trotting

I and J, a bull and a cow of the Malvi breed: these are

powerful draft animals,' but the cows are poor milkers. K and L, a
bull and a cow of the Tharparkar breed bred in the desert of Thar, good
for both milk and draft.
purposes.

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Limitations of Available Information

-While practical experience has resulted in a rough and ready
selection of those species, breeds and strains which " do well" in a
given environment, the time has long since come when this empirical knowledge needs to be critically examined and supplemented
by scientific procedures. This has been the history of progress in

every sphere of life; it has been the history- of progress in the

improvement of plant stocks; it will form the basis for wide development of animal stocks.
Lee and Phillips (1948) have systematically reviewed the ways
in which climatic elements affect the functioning of .animals and
have also summarized the methods of studying reactions of animals

to environmental stresses. The need for climatic studies in different climatic zones of the world is emphasized. Such studies
should naturally have as their objective the hastening of the slow
and very expensive evolutionary process which takes place under
conditions of natural selection.
It has been recognized from the outset of this work that any
compilation of information on the genetic and related physiological characteristics of the cattle of India and Pakistan, or of any
other area, would be incomplete in many respects. The Collection
of such data on livestock is an expensive process, and in many
cases even the more superficial data on productivity are almost
entirely lacking. The material presented in this publication is,
therefore, aimed at making generally- available summaries of such

information as could be obtained from all known sources with

regard to the productivity of cattle of India and Pakistan in

their native homes and in such other places as they have been
used, either in pure form or for grading-up or cross-breeding,
together with related information on the conditions under which
each type or breed was developed and on physical characteristics.
Recognizing the many gaps that exist in such information
as is available, it is hoped that the details given hiere will, nevertheless, be useful to livestock breeders in tropical and sub-tropical
areas and to FAO's member countries whose territories are located
in these zones. On the basis of existing information, this is the
best obtainable indication of the characteristics and sources of

breeding stock that might be used in their livestock breeding

programs wherever it is thought wise to consider the use of Zebu
4

cattle of any of the important types and breeds originating in

India or Pakistan, provided adequate animal health safeguards
are observed in such introductions. It is also hoped that this
publication will stimulate further stUdies aimed at -filling in
the many gaps in existing information.
Anyone desiring to import animals of any of these breeds
for breeding purposes should, of course, consult the veterinary
authorities regarding the laws and rules governing such proposed
importations, before initiating inquiries for breeding stock.

Importance of Adaptability to the Environment

There is ample evidence that adaptability to environment

is one of the important factors to consider when deciding upon
the type of stock to use in a livestock enterprise. This is true
whether the environmental conditions are favorable or unfavorable. In a favorable environment, the profitable animal is
one that is able to produce at a maximum level when ample feed
of good quality is supplied and -when other conditions of livestock
production are optimum. In a less favorable environment, greater

emphasis must be placed on ability to survive and less on immediate efficiency in transforming good quality feed into useable
products. If environmental conditions are rigorous because of
high temperature, scanty feed, feed of poor quality, severe winters,

high elevation or other factors, then ability to survive and reproduce in the face of such obstacles must be given major consideration
when selecting stock.

Man has frequently tried to transplant improved cattle, and

particularly specialized dairy stock, to areas where the environment differs materially from that in their native home, or from
the environment in other pl.aces where they have performed satisfactorily. The results have often been unsatisfactory, sometimes
disastrous. This has been true particularly in the areas of lower
altitude in the tropics, which are generally characterized by high
temperatures, high rainfall coarse rougha.ge of low nutritional
value, limited or no grain feeding and conditions favorable to
parasitic infestatiolA.
Improvem.ent of environmental conditions should be all
objective of every livestock producer, but in many areas limitations

are laid down by nature, 80 that the, producer can n, ove

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FIGURE 4. Cattle of Group H. The breeds classified in this Group

are short-horned, white or light gray in color with long coffin-shaped
skulls. The face is slightly convex in. profile. A and B, Bachaur bull
and cow, a draft breed from Bihar State. C and D, Bhagnari bull an.d
cow, a draft breed from Baluchistan. E and F, Gaolao bull and cow,
a light draft breed from Madyha Pradesh, hearing a close similarity to

the Ongole breed.

economic limits only to a certain point in improving the supply

and quality of feed and other environmental factors. In tropical
and sub-tropical areas many of the conditions under which cattle
must be produced are determined by nature, and if a producer's
cattle are to perform profitably he must select and breed animals
that are adapted to the environment.
The most productive types of livestock, as measured by
yardsticks such as milk, butter fat and meat yields, have been
developed in regions where ample feed is produced and where
temperate climatic conditions prevail. Generally, these regions
also happen to be those in which the economic status of the people

is best and where considerable emphasis has been placed on research and its application. Livestock producers have actively
tried to improve their animals and the conditions under which
they are produced, through co-operative efforts and through programs sponsored by governments. In many of the less productive
iegions, the limitations laid down by nature have often prevented
development by the livestock producer of animals highly specialized

for meat, milk or wool prqduction or work purposes. Generally,

poorer economic conditions have also hindered the development
of highly competent research and extension services to assist the
livestock owner.

It is not surprising that livestock producers .and agricultural

leaders in less developed regions have, in many instances, obtained

stock from more highly developed areas to use in improving the

animals native to their own regions, or to replace them. The

animal that has been developed to a highly specialized degree for
beef, milk, or wool production or work purposes under favorable
environmental conditions, stands in sharp contrast to many types
native to underdeveloped areas, when only individual merit in the
usual sense is considered.
But the contrast is often as marked in the apposite direction
when the "improved " animal from a favorable environment must
meet the tests of surviving and reproducing itself in the tropics,
in semi-arid areas, or in other areas to which it is not adapted.
To illustrate this point Bonsma (1952) cites an example, of a South
African ranch_ where over a 22-year period a total of 404 head
of .temperate zone purebred cattle was bought, but 279 or 69.1
percent died before being on the ranch for more than one year.
Over this period the average calving percentage was 39 percent

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FIGURE 5. Other breeds of Group II. G and H, Hariana bull and

cow: this is supposed to be one of the better dual-purpose (draft and
milk) breeds. i and J, Krishna Valley bull and cow; good for slow,

heavy draft: the breed is of recent origin. K and L, Mewati bull and
cow: this breed is similar to Hariana with a trace of Gir blood,

Other breeds of Group II. A and B, Nagori bull and

this is a famous trotting breed in India. C and D, Ongole bull
and cow, a powerful draft breed with fair milking capacity. E and F,
Ra' th bull an.d cow, a breed similar to the Hariana.
FIGURE 6.

cow:

and the calf mortality rate was 18 percent. This illustrates how
national assets could be wasted through a wrong introduction.
Obviously, the lessons to be learned from previous efforts to
introduce improved stock from the temperate zones into regions
having less favorable environments should be considered in
further attempts to improve livestock in the less developed areas.
Those planning such work should also study the results of experimental breeding projects that have been carried out in various
countries to develop types of animals adapted to special conditions. This is particularly important, since conditions that prevail
on a large portion of the world's land area are not favorable to
production of highly specialized beef or dairy cattle, large draft
horses or other highly specialized types of livestock.
In many of these less favorable areas, production of livestock
adapted to the local conditions is the only way in which the land

may be utilized effectively. In others, particularly in the tropics

and sub-tropics, there is need for milk and meat to supplement
the human diet which is obtained largely from plant sources, and,
animals from temperate regions often have not proved well adapted

to conditions that prevail generally in these regions.

Much of the available information having a bearing on the
breeding of livestock adapted to unfavorable environments has
been summarized by Phillips (1949) in another FAO publication.
It was not possible to collect and present all the pertinent facts,

but sufficient examples were given to illustrate the dangers of

introducing unadapted types, and to indicate the possibilities of
improving livestock under unfavorable conditions, either by
selecting within native types, introducing more productive types
from other regions where similar conditions prevail, or developing
new types adapted to specific sets of conditions. Hence, such

.details will not be repeated here. An example of the successful

introduction of one type of cattle into a region other than its native
home is shown in Figure 1.

Adaptability of Zebu Cattle to

Tropical and Sub-tropical Conditions
In any discussion on the cattle of Southern Asia, cattle from
the sub-continent of India and Pakistan naturally take the leading
role, since this is the area in which the most productive types of
10

cattle, among those native to Southern Asia, have been evolved.

Cattle in India and Pakistan belonging mainly to the species B08
indicus are also well-known as Zebus. In the Americas, these
cattle have been known as Brahmans; however, this is a local term
which cannot be applied to the Bos indicus species, but only to the

particular type of Zebu which has been evolved in the southern

United States by amalgamating several Indian breeds.
During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries when new
areas of the world were being colonized by Europeans, it was
early noticed by the colonists that in regions having hot, arid.
or humid climates and short growing seasons of pastures or long
intermittent spells of droughts, the cattle introduced from temperate zones could not easily withstand either the climatic stress or
the rigors imposed by the fluctuations and nature of the feed
supply. Together with the introduction of indented labor in some
of these colonized areas from India in the nineteenth century,
cattle from India also were introduced in the various European
Colonial territories. The ability of Zebu cattle to thrive under
vigorous conditions attracted the attention of the settlers, and
attempts were made in various regions to breed these cattle pure
or to use them for cross-breeding purposes.

In India itself (as constituted before the partition into India

and Pakistan), owing to the great importance of cattle in the

economy of the country, it was natural that much attention was
paid to cattle breeding in past centuries. Organized effort to
improve the cattle is, however, of more recent origin. Owing to
the vastness of the country, difficulties in transportation, peculiar
topography, soil and climatic conditions, breeds and types peculiar
to various localities were evolved. Circumstances enumerated
above also helped in the preservation of the purity of these evolved
breeds and types.

At the same time, trade in cattle by itinerant cattle dealers,

annual movement of cattle in search of grazing, and indiscriminate

and uncontrolled breeding caused mixing of types, often to the

detriment of the specific types. In spite of these unfavorable
crosscurrents, and the lack of concrete breeding policies until
recent times, India and Pakistan possess several diverse types of
cattle, and many breeds with distinctive characteristics are recognizable within some of these types.

11

FIGURE 7. Cattle of Group III. Breeds classified in this Group are

more ponderous in build and have pendulous dewlaps and sheaths. They

often have lateral and curled horns, and usually red or some shade of

red color, being occasionally spotted: the best dairy breeds among Zebus

are found in this Group. A an.d B, Danhi bull and cow: the males are
good workers but the cows produce little milk. C and D, Deoni bull
and cow, resembling the Gir breed in many respects, but also carrying
some Dangi blood. E and F, Gir bull and cow: they are famous for
their massive size; cows are good milk producers, bullocks are powerful

but slow at work.

FIGURE 8. Other breeds of Group III. G an_d H, Nimari bull and

cow: this is a powerful draft breed evolved by crossing Gir and Khillari
cattle. I and J, Red Sindhi bull an.d cow: the breed is famous for its
milk production and reputed adaptability to various climatic conditions.
K and L, Sahiwal bull and cow: this is an important milk breed in the
Central Punjab; the bullocks are slOw workers.
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44,

Yu'

137