Breed Registration and the Gazette Notification: A Unique National Framework for Protecting Native Animal Germplasm

The FAO’s Global Plan of Action for AnGR (Interlaken Declaration), 2007 is global framework for the protection of Animal Genetic Resources (AnGR) diversity, which laid down four strategic priority areas including characterization, inventory of native AnGR for adoption by all countries. India possesses a wide range of AnGR diversity, distributed over diverse geographical and ecological regions, and bears the proactive responsibility to document its own native AnGR on priority. Registration of animal breeds is a step towards inventorizing and documenting precious resources at national level. In India, registration has been initiated by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in the year 2008. Further to provide statutory recognition to the breeds, the registered breeds are the Gazette notified by the Govt. of India. At present, the number of registered and notified breeds has reached 202 belonging to 13 farm animal species in the country. Registration of animal breeds has shown a greater impact on socio-economic arena, including initiation of breed-based livestock census to formulating breeding policies and development programs for registered breeds in the country. The national framework for registration of native AnGR is unique in the world and may be a model to other countries, specifically African and South Asian countries for claiming sovereignty over and protecting their own native germplasm.