Maharashtra: Madgyal sheep gets offer of Rs 70 lakh
Pune, Dec 13: A Madgyal breed sheep, known for its unique appearance and superior meat quality, has got an offer of a whopping Rs 70 lakh from a buyer in Maharashtra's Sangli district while its owner has quoted a price of Rs 1.5 crore.
The Madgyal breed sheep, inhabitants of Jat tehsil in Sangli, are taller, larger and have a higher growth rate than other breeds. Hence, they are in great demand among breeders.
The state's animal husbandry department is also making extensive efforts to increase the Madgyal breed's population beyond its origin, an official told PTI.
This sheep breed derives its name from the Madgyal village in Jat tehsil of Sangli.
Babu Metkari, a shepherd having a flock over 200 sheep in Atpadi tehsil of Sangli, was surprised when a buyer at a fair recently offered to buy one of his Madgyal sheep for Rs 70 lakh, though he did not wish to sell his prized possession.
"This sheep's real name is Sarja, but it was re- christened 'Modi' after people likened him to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the way he won all elections and became PM of the country. Sarja, too, showed its dominance and ruled every fair and market it was taken," the proud owner told PTI.
Metkari said as Sarja is a "lucky charm" for him and his family, he does not want to sell it.
"I refused to sell to the person who offered Rs 70 lakh, but when he insisted, I quoted Rs 1.50 crore as I knew no one will shell out that much for the farm animal," he said.
Metkari said he has several sheep of the Madgyal breed, but Sarja is far superior in terms of qualities, appearance and ability to reproduce.
"We have been into the live-stock rearing business for two to three generations but in the last two years, we gained real profits just because of Sarja. A lamb bred by this sheep is sold between Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh," he claimed.
Metkari said in the last last two years, he has earned good money because of this sheep.
The Madgyal sheep are taller, larger, have a higher growth rate and are considered ideal for meat production.
The ruminant animal has a prominent brown ring around the eyes. Its head is convex and it has a typical Roman nose.
Its ears are pendulous and leaf-like long and drooping.
Maharashtra Sheep and Goat Development Corporation's assistant director Dr Sachin Tekade said in view of special qualities of the Madgyal breed, its utility, high demand and better adaptability to harsh drought-prone climate, the animal husbandry department has decided to revive the breed.
"During a survey in 2003, it was found that there were only 5,319 pure Madgyal sheep available in the breeding tracts of Sangli district," said Tekade, who has been researching on the Madgyal breed for last several years.
"So, an extensive programme was started with an aim to conserve and preserve the then endangered Madgyal sheep breed," said Tekade, who is also co-author of the paper 'Performance evaluation of Madgyal sheep in its breeding tract'.
Under the programme, initially 500 ewes and 20 rams of pure Madgyal breed were maintained at government-run sheep breeding farms, and the improved progeny from this pure breed was distributed among shepherds in the breeding tracts of Sangli, he said.
The characters of Madgyal sheep are very dominating and if it is crossed with a local breed sheep, the newborn lamb has more than 50 per cent features of Madgyal, he said.
"Now, the sheep population in Sangli district is more than 1.50 lakh, predominantly comprising the Madgyal breed," he said.
A proposal to register Madgyal as a separate breed has been sent tothe National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources at Karnal in Haryana, he added.
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Austrian police detain suspect in case of rat poison found in baby food jars on supermarket shelves
Vienna (AP): Police in eastern Austria say a 39-year-old suspect has been arrested after rat poison turned up in some HiPP baby food jars on supermarket shelves in central Europe.
HiPP, which recalled some of its baby food jars in Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic after the case came to light last month, said in a statement Saturday it was “greatly relieved” by the arrest, and would provide further updates as verified details come in.
The Burgenland State Criminal Police Office, under the direction of prosecutors, said a probe was launched after poison turned up in a baby food jar purchased at a supermarket in the city of Eisenstadt on April 18.
It said the suspect was being questioned, and that no further details would be immediately provided. The Burgenland public prosecutor's office has announced an investigation into suspected “intentional endangerment of the public.”
The Austrian Press Agency reported that an expert report on the toxicity of the poison was pending. A total of five tampered baby food jars were seized before they could be consumed, APA reported.
Authorities said previously they believe the tampering occurred in 190-gram (6.7-ounce) jars of baby food made with carrots and potatoes for 5-month-olds that were sold from SPAR supermarkets in Austria.
HiPP responded by recalling all of its baby food jars sold at SPAR supermarkets — which include SPAR, EUROSPAR, INTERSPAR and Maximarkt stores — in Austria as a precaution. Vendors in Slovakia and the Czech Republic also removed all of the brand's baby jars from sale.
The company said the recall was not due to any product or quality defect on its part, and said the jars left its facility in “perfect condition.”
Police said a customer at the time of the discovery had reported that a jar appeared to have been tampered with, but no one had consumed the baby food.
