-The United Nations With more than one in five indigenous livestock breeds at risk of Extinction, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today welcomed progress in many countries aimed at maintaining livestock diversity, but warned that more needs to be done to save what amounts to a critical resource for food production. In a news release, FAO noted that 80 national Governments are highlighting their actions in reports presented to...

-The Hindu A.R. Avaneendranathan, a dairy farmer, aims at popularising native breeds of farm animals “This cow is 83 cm tall, just six cm more than the shortest cow entered in the Guinness Book of World Records. I bought her at Badiyadukka in Kasaragod district. She is a Kasaragod dwarf breed of cattle but has the characteristics of a Malnad Gidda, which is also a dwarf breed. This breed can survive on...

-Outlook Hazaribagh (Jharkhand): A non-governmental organisation's persistent efforts to stop prescribing diclofenac medicine by veterinary doctors to treat illness in cattle has helped increase vulture population in Hazaribagh. Thanks to the efforts, the population of vulture, declared an endangered species worldwide, to jump five fold in this forested region. From a mere 60 or so, the vulture population in Hazaribagh has climbed to 300-plus, the convenor of the NGO Neo-Human Foundation, Satya Prakash,...

-The Hindu Several unique species of flora-fauna fast approaching the state of Extinction At a time when the representatives of 193 countries have gathered here for mulling over the conservation of biodiversity for better future of the humanity and for symbiosis of all living creatures on planet earth, lack of awareness about the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 among the Forest Department officials is resulting in the indiscriminate poaching of the biodiversity wealth...

-The Telegraph The Supreme Court today banned tourism in the core areas of India’s tiger reserves till further orders, fuelling fears among tour operators and some conservationists that people would lose the chance to watch the animals in the wild, local economies would bleed and poaching would increase. The court, responding to a petition by a non-government environment organisation, acknowledged concerns expressed by the National Tiger Conservation Authority that tourism may be...