Farmers
from Haa, Dorokha and from Arunachal Pradesh, India come to Trashigang
to buy the mules during the orange and cardamom seasons. "They buy about
15 mules every time they came to the villages, and take them in trucks,"
said Samten. So far Radhi alone has bred and sold about 269 mules within
seven years and Phongmey has sold about 175 of its 350 mules. "The buyers
are still waiting for the rest of the mules to fully mature," said the
Trashigang livestock assistant officer, B.N. Sharma. "Both geogs have made
about Nu. 3.5 million from breeding and selling mules." But offspring from
this cross, although fully developed as males or females, are almost always
sterile. "This could lead to the extinction of horses in future if done
on a large scale," said B. N. Sharma. "The government policy is to help
farmers meet their demands, not to encourage a large scale breeding of
mules. But the farmers now seek immediate benefit from this activity." |
