The Vechur cow is a rare breed of Bos indicus cattle named after the village of Vechur in Kottayam district, Kerala, India. With an average length of 124 cm and height of 87 cm it is the smallest cattle breed in the world and is valued for the larger amount of milk it produces relative to the amount of food it requires.[1] The Vechur animals were saved from extinction due to conservation efforts by Sosamma Iype Professor of Animal Breeding and Genetics and she was helped by a team of her students.[2] A Conservation trust was formed in 1998 to continue the work with farmer participation[3] In 1989 a conservation unit was started.
The Vechur cow was popular in Kerala until the 1960s but became rare when native cattle were crossbred with exotic varieties. [4]About 200 cows are supposed to exist today, nearly 100 of them with the Veterinary College.The milk is believed to have medicinal qualities and easy digestibility due to smaller fat globule size[5] A recent report claims that the milk of the Vechur cow has more of the beta casein variety A2, rather than the variety A1 which is implicated in diseases like diabetes, ischaemic heart disease and autism [6]. [7]
A controversy arose in 1997 when environmentalist Vandana Shiva stated that a Scottish company, the Roslin Institute, was trying to patent the cow's genetic code. Shiva described the action as piracy. The Roslin Institute denied the charge.[1][8][9] The allegations were proved to be baseless .The number of cows with the farmers have increased and they find it very suitable and sustainable to the farmers.