The case of the Vechur cow is an example of how vested interests can create obstacles for conservation of a near-extinct breed. It also shows what misdirected crossbreeding can do. The cow, from Vechur in Kottayam district, Kerala, is small and hardy, and its fodder requirements low. It yields 2.5 kg of high-fat milk per day on an average, withstands heat and is immune to many diseases, including foot-and-mouth. The mortality of calves is also low. The custom of giving Vechur cows as a marriage gift to daughters helped spread the breed. But in the 1950s, maintaining local Vechur bulls was banned. In the 1960s, these cows were extensively crossbred with exotic bulls and, at the same time, growth in dairying industry made cows with high milk yields popular. As a result, the population of the Vechur cow declined. It was close to extinction when students of the Veterinary College of Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) set about searching for it. Some Vechur cattle were found. A conservation project was launched in 1989, under the head of the livestock farm at KAU, Sosamma Iype.

However, in 1993, the cows started dying mysteriously. While police investigations were on, the government ordered the setting up of a four-member committee to look into the case. Iype, the principal investigator of the conservation project, was not allowed to be present at the hearings, even as two university representatives were chosen without consulting KAU. Iype filed a writ petition in the Kerala high court, pleading for a stay on the government order that set up the committee. The stay was granted. According to a newspaper report ( The Hindu , August 3, 1996), Iype said that somebody spread a rumour that the cattle taken up in the project were not genuine Vechur cows. She alleged that the deaths, which followed soon after, were due to poisoning of the cows by those opposed to the project. She also alleged that one of the members of the investigating panel, C K Thomas, had been shortlisted for the research before she took it up, but had denied the existence of the breed. The case is still pending in court.