Donkey genetic resources of India: A review

Abstract

Indigenous donkeys form an important genetic resource of India. Due to their lower cost of maintenance, these donkeys are mainly reared by poor and marginalized sections of the society. A donkey, although much smaller in size with less feed and fodder requirements, is able to generate 0.35 HP per hour, about half the power compared to that of bullock. With the improvement of road network and increased mechanization, the total population of donkeys, as per 2012 census, has decreased drastically to 3.19 lakhs showing a decline of 27.17 percent from the last census in 2007. Until recently, little information was available regarding types or breeds of indigenous donkeys. In the last few years some new populations of indigenous donkeys have been identified and characterized. Two of them, the Spiti and Halari donkeys have been registered as new breeds of indigenous donkeys. This article describes the population trends, breeds or types of indigenous donkeys identified in the recent past and the characteristics of these newly described populations.