History & Origin
Vechur Cattle Origin and History:
Vechur cattle had their origin at Vechur, a village in Vaikom, Kottayam district, Kerala. Kerala, the south western part of the Indian Peninsula is bordered in the east by the Western Ghats and in the west by the Arabian sea. Kerala is situated between 76° 23′ and 77° 23′ longitudes and 9° 44′ to 10° 18′ latitudes on the northern hemisphere. The state is blessed with an abundant rainfall (290-305 cm). Long spells of dry weather alternates with the monsoons. The monsoons comprise of a south-western (June to August) and a north-eastern (September to November) spell. The climate is hot (23 – 35°C). And it is quite humid (75-82%) due to proximity of backwaters. The luxuriant vegetation in the hot humid tropical climate gives an evergreen panorama to the State. In Vechur and nearby places water route was the main mode of transport.
The movement of the animals of the area was restricted because of the barriers like rivers, rivulets and backwaters which led to a geographic isolation. The heavy rain falls, and the hot humid climate of the area led to the natural selection for a small animal. Apart from this, the Vechur bulls with their small size and light weight, yet with strong stature were suitable for ploughing in the marshy paddy fields. The cows are small but with relatively higher milk production . Low input requirement for these animals also contributed to the preference of farmers for Vechur cattle.
The Travancore State Manual of 1940 by T. K. Velu Pillai has a particular mention of Vechur cows in it. The extremely small size of the cows, low feed requirement, good adaptation and high disease resistance are the traits favoured by the farmers. The milk of Vechur cows was considered to have high medicinal value and was extensively used in the Ayurvedic system of medicine. The culture, the way of life, occupation and outlook on cow keeping to get milk just enough for home consumption were in favour of a small animal.
Vechur cows soon became endangered. Massive crossbreeding policy adopted by the Government from the 1950s transformed the local animals into crossbreeds. Local bulls were not permitted to be retained as per Kerala Livestock Act 1961. The Act states that “No person should keep a bull for breeding if attains a particular age except with license and other terms and conditions unless certified to be castrated”. The Act covered the entire male cattle that have reached the breeding age, whether they are retained for breeding purpose or not. (However even now the breeding bulls belonging to the indigenous variety outnumber the crossbred breeding bulls in the state.) But bulls dedicated to the temples were exempted from provisions of the Act.
