Having been carried to the cold desert of Kargil at a height of 8780 ft. from the 798 ft. plains of Punjab on experimental basis, the Beetal goats have survived their first harshest winter. Twelve goats of the variety were transported to Kargil last summer from the Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Science University (GADVASU), Ludhiana, as a part of experiment to improve the quality of local goats.

Scientists of the GADVASU had dispatched these goats to the sheep husbandry department at Kargil with fingers crossed as they were uncertain whether these goats that were breeded in the harsh summer temperature touching 48.3 degrees Celsius would survive in the -17 degrees Celsius freezing cold in Kargil. However, the first ever experiment has succeeded with only one goat succumbing to this winter’s unprecedented snowfall in the cold desert of Ladakh.

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Dr. Zakir Hussain, chief veterinary scientist at Kargil, said that the goats have not only survived the freezing cold but have given birth to three offspring.

Encouraged with success of the experiment, Hussain said that the department plans to bring more Beetal goats to Kargil when the snowbound Zojila Pass reopens.

He said that for cross breeding of the local goats, the department proposes to this time bring the Beetal goats from Hoshiarpur in Punjab that is the home for this variety of goat.

Residents of the cold desert rear goats to meet their requirement of milk but the yield from the local variety is only about 200 ml against the average of 3.5 liters of the Beetal goat. Moreover, rearing goat is economical in the cold desert rather than the cow.

The Beetal goat is generally found in Punjab and the adjoining areas in Pakistan.  

According to Sandeep Kaswan, assistant professor in the department of livestock production management at GADVASU, Beetal is the most important goat breed of Trans-Gangetic  plain region of India and Pakistan’s Punjab province. The main focus of GADVASU was on conservation of Beetal goats and dissemination of pure germ plasm to goat rears.

The local variety of cow in Kargil has relatively less milk yield and thus is considered uneconomical.

The Hill Development Council has given a green signal for bringing more Beetal goats to Kargil to boost milk production.