Agra: The Indian Air Force (IAF), for the first time, inducted the Mudhol Hound, an Indian breed of sight hound from Karnataka, to chase away birds and animals from the runways and reduce risk of bird-hits.
Four Mudhol hound puppies, including two females, were brought to the Agra airbase on Sunday.
These were handed over to the IAF by Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, Govind M. Karajol, on behalf of the Canine Research and Information Centre (CRIC) in Bagalkot district of Karnataka.
A senior IAF official said bird-hits are a big problem at several airbases. These hounds will be trained by experts to scare away the birds.
"To address the problem of ground-dwelling birds such as lapwings and larks, IAF planned dog walking module. IAF chose to use a domestic breed as part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat. Taking a cue from PM's 'Mann Ki Baat' in which he had praised this breed, we decided to try the Mudhol hound. The qualities and temperament of this native breed were found suitable for bird scaring. The Air Force station here was selected as a pilot project.Depending on the success of the project, it will be extended to other stations," the official said.
Experts say that the breed is best known for its stamina, sharpness and agility. Mudhol hounds are also known to be fiercely loyal to their owners and are excellent hunting dogs.
16/02/21 IANS/Economic Times
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