Rural Heritage June/July 2026

Poor genetic quality of the species of livestock is the main cause. Still not a success story Livestock development activities had been persued pre-independent India, which also includes the territory of present-day Bangladesh. The British colonial administrator, Lord Linlithgow, brought some Hariana cattle for crossbreeding to improve the indigenous cattle. After the partition of British India in 1947, several breeds of cattle such as Sindhi, Shahiwal and Tharparka were brought to the eastern part of Pakistan, which nowadays forms Bangladesh. In 1958, an artificial insemination program started to improve local breeds. From 1969 to 1982, German specialists worked at the Savar Dairy Farm to evolve suitable breeds for draft and milk purposes. In 1974,

the Australian Government donated milk cows and breeding bulls of the Holstein-Friesian variety to Bangladesh. In addition, frozen semen of Bos taurus cattle was imported from Germany, America, France, Australia and Japan for use and improvement of local cattle. In collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency, embryo transplants were successfully conducted by the scientists of both countries. Despite these many efforts to improve the cattle wealth of the country, the success was not very encouraging (Rashid et al, 2023). Today, 85% of the cattle in Bangladesh are still indigenous in origin, small and low in production. But the Red Chittagong, Pabna, North Bengal Grey and Munshiganj breeds are more heat resistant and better adapted to the fluctuating nutrient supply. However, low birth rates combined with high mortality

Cattle are provided only rudimentary food, shelter and health care.

Rural Heritage

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