After PM’s ‘Mann ki Baat’, queries pour in for Tamil Nadu hounds

CHENNAI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s last ‘Mann Ki Baath’ has brought Tamil Nadu’s famed dog breeds -- Chippiparai and Rajapalayam – into the limelight. Ever since Modi mentioned the breeds, queries have been pouring in at the dog breeding unit in Saidapet from veterinarians in northern India.
“They wanted to know more about these hounds,” said former government veterinarian Dr Sujatha.
Rajapalayam
“Vets wanted to know where the native breeds were available and whether these could be trained and what kind of food they eat. They asked about whether the hounds could withstand the cold in north India,” she said.
Chippiparai or Rajapalyam prefer non-veg food and are frugal eaters. Feeding them with multi-organs is considered ideal as these will help them overcome health issues.
Native canines have been bred at the unit since the 1980s. The unit has sold 5,000-plus puppies till date.
A male Chippiparai/Kanni puppy or a Rajapalayam puppy is priced at Rs 1,500 and a female puppy is sold for Rs 1,250. Last year, the department had sent a proposal to the government to revise the prices of these native hound breeds, but that is yet to be cleared, said an official from the animal husbandry department.
“In the 1990s, when in-bred puppies of Chippiparai and Kombai flooded the market, the unit stopped the breeding these. After that, in 2016, a new set of Rajapalayam and Chippiparai breeds were bought from private breeders in Madurai and Virudhunagar. These are now breeding here,” said the official.
Due to unregulated breeding, Rajapalayams are often born with hearing impairment. They show indications on the 24th day of their birth. “From the 60th day they start responding to the commands of their master. Experienced breeders can easily identify the hearing impairment,” said native dog breeder, V Vincent of Nasareth in Tuticorin district. He sells native hounds in a range of Rs 6,000 to Rs 25,000. The expensive pups are healthy and come from a quality lineage. “These are the two factors that determine the prices of our breeds,” he said.