Bullock population on the decline in Odisha: Minister

Bhubaneswar: The bullock population in Odisha has gone down sharply in between 2012 and 2019, said Fisheries and Animal Resources Development Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain in the Assembly today.

The number of bullocks in the state has come down by 31 per cent in between 2012 and 2019, said the minister while replying to query by MLA Dhruba Charan Sahoo.

As per the 19th livestock census in 2012, Odisha had altogether 43,01,806 bullocks, added the minister.

The number came down to 29,85,142 in the state during the 20th livestock census in 2019, he said.

Earlier, Sahoo sought to know whether the population of bulls in Odisha has risen in recent years as people are reluctant to castrate the male calves.

“Is it true that Odisha has witnessed a sharp rise in bull population as people are reluctant to castrate the male calves due to the low demand of bullocks in farm works,” the MLA sought to know from the minister.

The legislator also wanted to know the steps taken by the state government to save the standing crops of farmers from the bulls.

In his reply, the minister admitted that the demand for bullocks has decreased significantly in Odisha over the years. As a result, people are not interested to castrate the male calves, he said.

“However, the Animal Resources department does not enumerate the bull population separately during the livestock census,” added the minister.

The minister further said the state government has no information regarding the damage caused to the standing crops by the bulls.

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