Chennai: At a time when Tamil Nadu youth are protesting in support of Jallikattu -- the bull taming sport -- for preservation of the native bull breed, a consignment of 60 imported jersey cows have arrived in the city, said native cattle breeders.

"What is the need for imported cows when the government can encourage breeding of native varieties," Karthikeya Sivasenapathy, managing trustee of the Senaapathy Kangayam Cattle Research Foundation (SKCRF), told IANS.

According to Sivasenapathy, banning rural sports like Jallikattu would make people lose interest in rearing and breeding native cattle breeds.

Over a period of time, native breeds would vanish and would be substituted with imported animals, he opined.

"Foreign companies would like to export animals to India as the labour is cheap here, instead of dairy products," Sivasenapathy added.

The cows arrived here on Tuesday.-Agency