Livestock census to cover 1.5 crore households in Karnataka

Bengaluru: A total of 1.5 crore households in Karnataka will be covered under the 21st Livestock Census in which enumerators, armed with a mobile app, will carry out a headcount of domesticated animals as well as stray cattle and dogs.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah launched the Karnataka leg of the national livestock census last week.

Until February 2025, a total of 3,243 surveyors will go door-to-door in 29,269 villages and 7,176 municipal wards.

Animal Husbandry Minister K Venkatesh said the livestock census will help the government in more ways than one.

“It is crucial in shaping targeted livestock programs like the National Gokul Mission and Dairy Development initiatives. Census data will enable the government to enhance animal health, boost productivity and uplift rural incomes,” he said in a statement.

The livestock census started in 1919. The quinquennial exercise was last done in 2019. In Karnataka, the 2019 census found 84.69 lakh cows, 29.85 lakh buffaloes and 1.1 crore sheep among a total of 3.03 crore livestock.

This time, the union government has made the lives of enumerators easy.

“In the previous census, there was a spreadsheet containing 200 columns. Details had to be fed into a computer. This time, enumeration happens on an app and details are directly uploaded onto the system. If there’s no network, then the app stores it for updating once there’s connectivity,” Dr AD Shivaram, assistant director of animal husbandry & veterinary sciences, said.

“The only challenge we may encounter is while enumerating stray dogs,” Dr Shivaram said. “Stray dogs keep moving between streets. So, a dog enumerated on one street shouldn’t be covered during the census again when it moves to another street.”

The 21st Livestock Census is expected to cover 16 species and 219 breeds of cows, buffaloes, sheep, goats, horses, donkeys, camels, pigs, dogs, chickens, ducks, geese and yak.