Cyclone, connectivity issues hamper 20th livestock census

As per the 19th quinquennial livestock census, Tamil Nadu ranked first in poultry, 4th in sheep, 7th in goats, 13th in Cattle and 14th in buffalo population of the country in losing its domestic animals in the past ten years.

“The livestock population during the 18th census was 307.58 lakh covering cattle, goats, horse and donkey. This dipped to 227 lakh during the 19th census held five years ago. Now again due to the severe drought during 2016-17 and the recent Cyclone Gaja, the population will further dip during the ongoing census,” informed an official to DT Next.

“Further ongoing 20th census is also problematic due to lack of infrastructure and internet connectivity. There is no clarity on payments and the server of the census programme crash on a regular basis,” said a senior veterinarian involved in the enumeration.

When contacted, state Animal Husbandry Secretary K Gopal said that the issues related to the census are fixed and there is a good progress with the enumeration work. The government of India has extended time till March 31 and the census in Gaja hit areas will be completed only by March.

“We had a livestock loss due to Gaja in Delta region, but the mortality rate was reduced due to quick response. There is clarity on the number of cattle, sheep, goat and poultry that died during the cyclone and the census in these areas will be finished only by the end of March,” he added. Aavin and Tanuvas are involved in many programmes to improve the livestock,he said.

Talking on the issue, A Kumaraguru, founder, Biodiversity Conservation Foundation, Tiruchy said, “Umbalacheri cattle grown in the Delta region had been adversely affected and the local goat endemic to Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam district had also suffered severe mortality.” He stressed on the need for massive scheme to revitalise endemic livestock breeds.