The Sahiwal is a breed of zebuine cattle indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. It is named after Sahiwal District of the Punjab province of present-day Pakistan, and is distributed mainly in that province of Pakistan and in the Indian states of Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan.
History
The Sahiwal has been exported to many countries. These include: Burundi, the Comoros, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Mali, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, the Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia in Africa; Bangladesh, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam in Asia: Australia and New Zealand in Oceania; and Cuba, Ecuador, Honduras, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago in the Americas. Seven countries have reported population data in recent years, and from this the world population is estimated to be about ; Pakistan has not reported population numbers since 2006, when the total herd numbered over head. The large numbers reported may include cross-bred as well as pure-bred stock.
Characteristics
The Sahiwal is of small to medium size: in Pakistan, average body weights are for bulls and for cows, while heights at the withers are and respectively; in India cows are reported to be considerably smaller, with an average weight of and withers height of . The coat is a reddish dun, sometimes with white markings. In bulls, the hump is large and may lean to the side; the crown of the head is domed, particularly in bulls; and the horns are small. It is a heat-tolerant cattle breed.
Use
It is a triple-purpose breed, reared for its milk, for its meat and for draught work. It has been much used for cross-breeding, often with European dairy breeds such as the Friesian and Jersey. It has contributed to the development of a number of other breeds, among them the Australian Friesian Sahiwal or Australian Frieswal, the Australian Milking Zebu, the Australian Sahiwal, the Frieswal, the Jamaica Hope, the Karan Swiss, the Kenya Sahiwal, the Mpwapwa and the Quasah.
References
Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to: The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. . Archived 23 June 2020.
Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. .
Transboundary breed: Sahiwal. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed June 2025.
Breed data sheet: Sahiwal / Pakistan (Cattle). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed June 2025.
Breed data sheet: Sahiwal / India (Cattle). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed June 2025.
Marleen Felius (1995). Cattle Breeds: An Encyclopedia. Doetinchem, Netherlands: Misset. .
Parampreet Singh Narula (6 May 2016). For desi breed 'Sahiwal', Punjab luring farmers with special benefits. Hindustan Times. Accessed June 2025.
C. Devendra (1997). Improvement of Livestock Production in Crop-animal Systems in Rainfed Agro-ecological Zones of South-East Asia. Nairobi: International Livestock Research Institute. .
Valerie Porter, Ian Lauder Mason (2002). Mason's World Dictionary of Livestock Breeds, Types, and Varieties (fifth edition). Wallingford: CABI. .
Sahiwal. Dairy Knowledge Portal. Anand, Gujarat: National Dairy Development Board. Accessed June 2025.