Odisha’s Kendrapada sheep becomes 42nd sheep breed in India

Kendrapada sheep from Odisha has got national recognition and becomes the 42nd sheep breed in India. It received registration number INDIA_SHEEP_1500_KENDRAPADA_14042.

Previously, four cattle and two buffalo breeds, native to Odisha, were registered at national level. It was informed by fisheries and animal resources development secretary Bishnupada Sethi on Thursday.

“Seventy-one per cent of the sheep have possibilities of giving birth to twins, which is the highest in the world. Garole sheep found in West Bengal has the second highest percentage of such possibilities with 60% giving birth two babies at one go,” said Dr Susanta Kumar Dash, the lead author of the study and professor of animal breeding and genetics at OUAT.

A study by Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) and Orissa Livestock Development Society, a state government agency, found that more than 80% Kendrapada Sheep give multiple offsprings in the same delivery with 71% twins, 9% triplets and 1% quadruplets.

Earlier, Kendrapada Sheep was identified as second sheep breed in India and the sixth in the world, which carries FecB mutation gene, which is responsible for prolificacy (multiple babies in same delivery).

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