21st Livestock Census

About 21st Livestock Census:

• The Livestock Census is conducted every five years.
• The census carries out a headcount of the number of domesticated animals, poultry, and stray animals in the country. 
• The census takes into account information about the species, breed, age, sex, and ownership status of the animals in question.
• Background: Since 1919, a total of 20 livestock censuses have been carried out so far, with the last being conducted in 2019. 
• The enumeration process for the 21st census will take place between October 2024 to February 2025.
• Focus of 21st Livestock Census

• According to the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, information on sixteen animal species will be collected in the 21st census. These include: cattle, buffalo, mithun, yak, sheep, goat, pig, camel, horse, ponies, mule, donkey, dog, rabbit, and elephant. 
• In total, the census will capture information on 219 indigenous breeds of these sixteen species recognised by ICAR-National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR).
• Besides these, the census will also carry out a headcount of poultry birds such as fowl, chicken, duck, turkey, geese, quail, ostrich, and emu.

• The census this time will be fully digitised, like the last one in 2019. 
• This will include “online data collection through a mobile application, monitoring at various levels through a digital dashboard, capturing the latitude and longitude of data collection location, and generation of livestock census report through software.
• The 21st census will capture several new data points. These include:

• Data on pastoral animals, pastoralists: The census will, for the first time, collect data on the contribution of pastoralists to the livestock sector, their socio-economic status, and livestock holding.
• More details, granular information: The census will find out the proportion of households whose major income comes from the livestock sector. It will also contain data on the gender of stray cattle.