Cattle Face Exctinction in Uganda

Authorities say that Uganda's Anokle cows are being replaced by Holstein-Friesians, which produce more milk.

There is a tendency in Uganda to replace the low-yielding indigenous cattle with cross-breeds and exotic cattle.

This is contained in a report by scientists from the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), which was presented at an international conference in Interlaken, Switzerland, on Monday.

But scientists have expressed concern about what they call a 'livestock meltdown', not only in Uganda but also in other developing countries.

"There is a livestock meltdown underway across Africa, Asia and Latin America," Carlos Sere of the International Livestock Research Institute told the 300 participants at the conference.

"Valuable breeds are disappearing at an alarming rate. In many cases we will not even know the true value of an existing breed until it is already gone. This is why we need to act now to conserve what is left by putting them in gene banks."

Here is what they look like (very distinctive).