Tropical Cattle Origins Breeds And Breeding Policies

This book comprises of three distinct but closely related parts. The first consists of an account of the origin and distribution of cattle throughout the tropical and sub-tropical world, citing contemporary evidence from anthropological, archaeological, historical, linguistic, livestock husbandry and genetic studies. It is a first, and therefore controversial, attempt to provide a comprehensive overview as to the origin of the very large number of tropical cattle breeds. In the second part an attempt is made to classify and describe all major tropical and sub-tropical cattle breeds in Afria, The Americas, Asia and Oceania. The primary reasons for classification are to facilitate conservation of all these breeds and to provide basic information for the selection of those breeds most suitable for inclusion in breeding projects. Requirements for future breeding strategies and policies are discusses in the third part of the book, together with the role that biotechnology could play in future tropical cattle breeding plans.

Most of the future increase in livestock production is expected to occur in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Cattle are the most numerous of the ruminant species in the tropics and provide the largest quantity of animal food products. More than one-third of the world's cattle are found in the tropics. Disease is the major factor which prohibits full utilization of these regions for cattle production. Various infectious and transmissible viral, rick ettsial, bacterial, and particularly protozoan and helminthic diseases, are widespread in the tropics and exert a heavy toll on the existing cattle industry there. This uncontrolled disease situation also discourages investment in cattle industries by private and government sectors. In Africa alone, it is estimated that 125 million head of cattle could be accommodated in the tropical rainbelt if the disease and other animal husbandry factors could be resolved. The potential of efficient cattle production under more favorable conditions prompted various international agencies to establish a multi million dollar International Laboratory for Research in Animal Diseases (ILRAD) in Nairobi, Kenya, Africa. In South America, principal sites for raising cattle are shifting to the savannah lands because the more fertile soils are being used for crop produc tion, however, in the savannahs also, disease remains the most powerful deterrent in implementing the cattle industry.

Mason's World Dictionary of Livestock Breeds, Types and Varieties, now in its sixth edition, has a long history as a reliable and authoritative source of key livestock breed information. Intended as a list of livestock names and synonyms for breeds, groups, types and varieties worldwide, the dictionary aims to include all names found in the literature, 'defining' each breed or type with a brief indication of identifying characteristics, uses and source of origin.

Brazil has the second-largest cattle herd in the world and is a major exporter of beef. While ranching in the Amazon—and its destructive environmental consequences—receives attention from both the media and scholars, the states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul actually host the most cattle. A significant beef producer in Brazil beginning in the late nineteenth century, the region served as a laboratory for raising cattle in the tropics, where temperate zone ranching practices do not work. Mato Grosso ranchers and cowboys transformed ranching’s relationship with the environment, including the introduction of an exotic cattle breed—the Zebu—that now dominates Latin American tropical ranching. Cattle in the Backlands presents a comprehensive history of ranching in Mato Grosso. Using extensive primary sources, Robert W. Wilcox explores three key aspects: the economic transformation of a remote frontier region through modern technical inputs; the resulting social changes, especially in labor structures and land tenure; and environmental factors, including the long-term impact of ranching on ecosystems, which, he contends, was not as detrimental as might be assumed. Wilcox demonstrates that ranching practices in Mato Grosso set the parameters for tropical beef production in Brazil and throughout Latin America. As the region was incorporated into national and international economic structures, its ranching industry experienced the entry of foreign investment, the introduction of capitalized processing facilities, and nascent discussions of ecological impacts—developments that later affected many sectors of the Brazilian economy.

A beautifully illustrated reference work on the biology, ecology, conservation status and management of all thirteen species of wild cattle and buffalo. This book will be a valuable resource for students, researchers, and professionals in animal behaviour, behavioural ecology, evolutionary biology and conservation biology.

This book is the first to apply systematic palaeopathological, archaeological and historical investigations (using bones as a focus as well as other supporting lines of information) to Chinese osteological materials in order to answer the question about the origins of cattle labour. Structurally, this monograph flows from an introduction and review of previous scholarship and questions, through employed theory and developed methods, to analyses of archaeological materials, and finally finishes by overall discussion and closing remarks. Topics covered in this monograph include the significance of the study of cattle traction in North China, understanding and research into cattle traction within history, art and archaeology, and identifying traction in cattle bones. The author also uses the Pathological Index-refined (PIr) and morphometrics to test the reliability of both methods in identifying traction in cattle bones. The author applies both methods to archaeological sites in the Yellow River region. This book is of interest to researchers studying the Late Bronze Age and zooarchaeology.