A Three-Decade Struggle For Native Breeds

"THE mother was lying dead, and the calf, just three days old, was sucking her udder, unaware of her death. It was a terrible scene and continues to haunt me even after decades..."

- MANOJ VISWANATHAN

Dr Sosamma Iype, the celebrated animal conservationist who brought the Vechur cow back from near extinction, gets emotional as she reflects on her three-decade-long struggle.

"I don't know whether it was professional jealousy or vengeance. One day, a few cows were found dead in the cattle shed at the veterinary college in Thrissur. An investigation led by police IG Sandhya revealed that the cows were fed grass laced with poison. When I visited the cowshed, the calf was desperately searching the udder of its mother for milk. On another occasion, a cowshed caught fire, and a few cows were charred to death. I don't know whether it was a deliberate act or accidental."

Sosamma, who was in Kochi to inaugurate the Winter School organised by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, shares her long battle for conserving native breeds. At the time when she set out, the government was promoting crossbreeding in cattle to improve milk production, using high-yield exotic breeds like Holstein Friesian and Jersey.