Thai Indigenous Cattle

The Thai indigenous cattle (Bos indicus) were very important in rural area of Thailand. They had been selected by natural selection for a long time. Animal resisting to infectious disease could be alive and reproductive, thus the result was the origin of Thai indigenous cattle. In the rural areas of Thailand, farmers raise indigenous cattle as draught animal, fighting bull, racing bull, and for meat consumption as the best protein source.  Some line of Thai indigenous cattle, they were believed as God’s cattle (Kho-Usupparacha of Siva God), especially, Khow – Lamphun cattle in northern Thailand and fighting bull in southern Thailand. Therefore, indigenous cattle was cultural heritage and had biodiversity. The flavor of Thai indigenous cattle meat was delicious and appropriate to Thai food cooking. Thai indigenous cattle resist to infectious disease and parasites, especially, tick. They have high heat tolerant traits. They have high fertility traits. They can give birth every year. Farmers could feed indigenous cattle as their income “Saving Bank”. Accordingly, Thai indigenous cattle have high efficiency in the use of natural resources. They are maximum used of the available animal genetic resources.



The plowing ceremony




Thai indigenous crossbred cattle were used as draght animal




Thai indigenous cattle in North Eastern Thailand




Thai indigenous cattle in Central Thailand




Fighting Bull in Southern Thailand

Thai indigenous cattle of southern part of Thailand were conserved by cultural game, fighting bull. They were phenotypic selected for big size and strong to be fighting bull. The success of this conservation made farmers raised indigenous cattle as their main occupation integrated with crop.

Southern indigenous cattle had various skin and hair color such as : red, light brown, black, and piebald. Their navels were not slacken. They attach to belly. Their dewlaps were not slacken. Their average birth weight was 15 kgs. Their weaning weight at 200 days was 88 kgs. They had good characteristics of heat tolerance, disease resistance, and high fertility traits. Farmers used Thai herbs to prevent cattle disease. They were the main red meat source for consumers. Farmers fed them in natural local pasture. Thai indigenous cattle raising provided manure as fertilizer for crop and rice growing. They provided abundant of biodiversity and this was the importance of southern Thai indigenous cattle conversation.      

                The origin of fighting bull game in southern part of Thailand was more than 500 years ago. In the past, there was no stadium. Farmers exercised their bulls in space area around their fields after harvesting as their games. Nowadays, fighting bull game is very interesting. Thus, they run fighting bull game in stadium. Many of activities concerned to fighting bull games originned in these stadium.                          
           The fighting bulls were not castrated. Farmers selected these bulls to be big, strong, enduring, and clever. By the reasons of selecting power and strong bulls for fighting games, conserved the best cattle to be the best sources of protein food in Thailand.