Agra: For the first time ever, Indian Air Force (IAF) has 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.

The desi pups 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. Four Mudhol hound puppies, including two females, were brought to the Agra airbase.

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.

According to experts, these agile all-weather dogs enjoy good health and require minimum grooming, have already been recruited by the Indian Army, CRPF, CISF, BSF, SSB, ITBP and the police departments of a few states. A few weeks ago, IAF officials placed an order for seven puppies. After completing all the formalities, four Mudhol hounds, aged around three months have been handed to the IAF officials of Agra Air Force station. Another three puppies will be handed over after six months as per an agreement.

Recently, the Indian Army trained dogs to find COVID-19 virus for a quick and a real time situation for easier movements of troops.

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(With inputs from IANS)