Muturu Cattle Breed in Benin: Distribution, Phenotypic Diversity, Perception of Cattle Keepers and Implications for the Breed conservation

The present work involved updating information on the Muturu cattle breed in Benin, in order to design a sustainable breeding management scheme for its conservation. A total of 108 farmers were interviewed and 216 adult cattle physically looking like Muturu cattle as described previously were sampled in 6 departments of Southern Benin spread over 4 agro-ecological zones. Forty-one (41) qualitative traits were assessed and 10 to 11 morphometric measurements were carried out using the Animal Genetic Resources Characterisation, Inventory and Management Tool. The proportions and means obtained were analysed respectively by analysis of variance and two-tailed Z tests contained in the Agricola package of the R analysis software. The results showed that the lowest morphometric measurements were obtained from the animals of the department of Ouémé. These values were similar to those reported earlier in Muturu cattle. However, the highest values were obtained on animals from Mono and Couffo departments and were close to the values reported on taurine zebu cattle previously. Herd clustering results revealed the existence of subgroups in the populations of Muturu cattle of the Atlantic and Mono departments. Subject to confirmation by molecular testing, this study revealed that currently, Muturu cattle are found in the departments of Ouémé, Plateau and Atlantic in Benin where populations from Ouémé department are physically the closest to breed as described previously. The department of Zou has almost no Muturu cattle, and the departments of Couffo and Mono are dominated by Zebu x Muturu crossbreds. It is important therefore to design a conservation programme for the breed where it’s still found, as its existence would probably be linked to the preferences of the cattle keepers and the local communities and to its capacity to overcome the challenges of these ecosystems.