At an awareness meeting held in Kadayakkulam village, Ramanathapuram District, the Tamil Nadu Federation of Pastoral People’s Sangam highlighted the urgent need to conserve the endangered Ramnad White Sheep, a traditional indigenous breed once native to the Ramanathapuram region
“Preserving indigenous sheep breeds such as the Ramnad White and the critically endangered Katchaikatty is deeply tied to regional culture and livelihoods,” Gandhi said, calling for govt intervention and dedicated schemes to safeguard these livestock. Rajiv Gandhi , TFPPS president, warned that the purebred Ramnad White sheep is currently on the brink of extinction. “Over the past three decades, some pastoralists mixed local flocks with larger Nellore sheep from Andhra Pradesh , which drastically diluted the native genetic pool. Local estimates suggest that only hundreds of purebred Ramnad White sheep are in existence across the state.
Today, official census figures fail to reflect ground realities, where purebred herds have virtually vanished,” he said.