MEDZIPHEMA, 15 Oct: Animal Husbandry Minister Gabriel D Wangsu has strongly advocated protection and propagation of mithuns, saying that “it is the most prized possession of the tribal communities since it is intricately linked to tribal culture and traditions.”
The minister was speaking after releasing the roadmap themed ‘Revitalising mithun sector in Arunachal Pradesh’ on the occasion of the 37th foundation day of the National Research Centre (NRC)-Mithun here in Nagaland on Tuesday.
Calling upon all mithun-rearing states to share a common platform to address the concerns, the minister said that the mithun ought to be declared a domestic animal in a cohesive manner.
“Even there is need to seek international collaboration of all the mithun rearing nations,
especially Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh, so that the mithun farmers get the best, since the gentle giant has been recognised as a food animal,” Wangsu said.
He also stressed on creation of mithun research and training facilities in Arunachal Pradesh, and urged the scientific fraternity to introduce kits to detect mithun meat adulteration for quality control. He further emphasised on scientific mithun rearing by adoptingof semi-intensive types of rearing.
The minister, who was accompanied by Animal Husbandry & Veterinary (AHV) Secretary Hage Tariand AHV Director D Longri, among others, requested the mithun farmers from different states to benefit from the regional workshop and the institutional support and guidance extended by the NRC-Mithun.
Director of ICAR-NDRI-Karnal Dr. Dheer Singh and director of ICAR-NRC-Mithun, Nagaland Dr. Girish Patil and host of senior officers from govt of Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh attended the programme.
Earlier, on his way to Nagaland in Jorhat, Assam, the minister had visited Bahubali layer farm at Koronga and a winery run by Northeast Agro product and services on Monday. He also visited and interacted with officials of the food and civil supply, Roweriah, Jorhat while taking stock of the various infrastructure of the office of the departments of civil supplies and PWD.
