Cattle - Our Strong Supporters

Cattle are most common domestic ungulates. They belong to the family Bovidae belonging to the genus Bos collectively classified as Bos primigenius. Cattle are raised as livestock for milk and milk products, meat and as draft animals. Other products obtained from cattle include leather and dung for manure. In India cattle are considered as sacred animals. At present there are about 1.3 billion cattle in the world. In 2009 cattle became the first livestock animal whose genome have been mapped. Cattle were identified for the first time by Carl Linnaeus as three different species. Animals included in cattle are cows, buffaloes, goats, camels etc.

The word cattle have originated from Old French word catel which means a movable personal property. Cattle have one stomach with four compartments. These compartments are rumen, reticulum, omasum and abomasum. Rumen is the largest compartment. Reticulum is the smallest and is known as the honey comb. Cattle sometimes absorb heavy metals which get deposited in the reticulum and causes irritation resulting in hardware disease. The main function of omasum is to absorb water and nutrients from the digested food. Omasum is also known as many plies. Abomasum resembles human stomach and so is known as true stomach.

Cattle are ruminants which mean that their digestive system allows the indigestible matter to be regurgitated again and rechewed as cud. Cud is then reswallowed and then further digested by the micro-organisms present in rumen. Microbes present in rumen break cellulose and other complex carbohydrates into volatile fatty acids that is utilized as a metabolic fuel by cattle. Microbes are also able to synthesize amino acids from non-protein nitrogenous sources like urea and ammonia. The older generation of microbes is renewed with the new one as the older ones die. The carcass of the dead microbes acts as a valuable high quality protein source by cattle and is digested. Microbes help cattle to feed on grasses and other plant material.

Gestation period in cow is of nine months. A new born calf weighs 25-45 kg. The world's heaviest bull weighed 1,740 kg. There is a wrong misconception about cattle that they get irritated by red colour. The truth is that they are colour blind. Though they are colour blind but they have two kinds of receptors in their retina and cone cells. They are dichromatic. They are able to distinguish some colours like blue from yellow. The National Institute of Health and the U.S. Department of Agriculture has mapped the bovine genome. Scientists have found that cattle have 22,000 genes of which 80% resemble humans and 1,000 genes resemble with rodents and dogs. These 1,000 genes are not found in humans. With this genome scientists can track the differences between the breeds that affect the quality of meat and milk yields.

Cattle occupy a definite place in human history and have been domesticated since early Neolithic. They are raised for meat, milk and hides. They are also used as drafts and in certain sports. Cattle are also raised by allowing herds to graze in the grasslands. The common husbandry practices include ear tagging, dehorning, loading, medical operations, vaccination and hoof care as well as training them for agricultural tasks and other activities. Cattle are farmed for beef, veal, dairy, leather. Depending upon the breed they are able to survive on hills, marshes, moors and semi-deserts. Modern breeds of cow are more economic than the old breeds. Some farmers still prefer the older breed of cow popularly famous as Jersey. In Portugal, France and some Latin American countries bulls are used in bullfighting but this activity is illegal. Bull riding is very common in North America.

Milk obtained from cattle is used in the preparation of curd, cheese, butter and other dairy products which fetch good prices to the dairy industry. Cattle hides are used for making leather which is utilized in the production of shoes, accessories and clothes. Cattle are also used as draft animals in the developing nations. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) suggests that 18% of the greenhouse gases come from cattle farming. Some microbes inhabiting the gut of cattle respire anaerobically and release about 95% of methane which pollutes the environment. Methane is a very potent green house gas. If cattle are allowed to feed on corn diet the acidity of the digestive system increases. The dung obtained if used as manure is harmful for the agricultural crops. Cattle also cause threat to biodiversity by overgrazing as the population of humans is increasing day by day and the grazing fields which were earlier available for the cattle have now become very small.

Cow urine is used for medicinal purposes in India. It is distilled and then used for the treatment of a number of diseases. Oxen are large breeds of Bos taurus which are trained and used as draft animals. They are adult castrated males. They are used for ploughing, irrigation, transport and other purposes. They are also used as food particularly for liver, kidneys, heart and other organs.

Cattle are very important animals as they support the well being of humans in a number of ways.

Navodita Maurice

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