Drawbacks of Artificial Insemination (AI)
- AI technique decreases the efficiency of heat detection. In natural environment, males and females are kept together, and heat detection is carried out by a more efficient bull. So it is recommended that teasers should be used for heat detection or rely on techniques like ELISA, RIA.
- If the wrong bull is used in A.I., thousands of females will be inseminated, and thus AI may become main vector in transmission of venereal diseases.
- High skilled human resources are required for handling, collection, processing, evaluation and insemination of semen, and heat detection, etc. Missing one step will lead to the failure of A.I.
- A robust sexual health program is required for the success of A.I.
The constraint of A.I.
- The small number of breeding bulls.
- No reliable A.I. services
- No knowledge of allied problems.
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| Artificial Insemination drawback |
Why are we far behind in this technique?
(1): Lack of genetic potential:
Good genetic makeup of the source bull is necessary to make AI a success. Lack of good genetic potential is a main hurdle in failure of artificial insemination.
(2): Acute shortage of breeding Bulls:
The problem is an acute shortage of breeding bull, and this in the case of buffalo is 1:138 and if we include the urban area, then 1:171. In the case of cattle, it is 1:19. It shows the shortage of bull. The reason is that we just keep females; 6-12 month males are sold for meat.
(4): Lack of trained human resources:
Due to a lack of sufficient knowledge, this technique is failing in some countries. At the government level, there must be a training program.
(5): Lack of infrastructure:
The facility of offices, roads, transport, system, and residence is less. Veterinary service should be provided for 24 hours because the animal can be in heat at any time.
(6): Research:
Need to work more on deep freezing and storage of semen. When semen preservation is completed, the mortality is 40-45 %. Transportation stress decreases it further due to increased temperature and jerks. There are no optimum storage conditions in hospitals. There is also a lack of knowledge of the storage of semen.
(7): Availability of liquid nitrogen:
The availability of liquid nitrogen is also a problem. At the bottom of the container, the temperature is -196 oC, and at the top, it is -124 oC. The temperature rises due to an insufficient supply of liquid nitrogen, so semen quality deteriorates.
You may also read 13 advantages of artificial insemination in animals.