In Tamil Nadu sheep herders face problems because of sudden death of sheep due to disease caused by virus and other micro organisms. These diseases are PPR (Tharai Kalisal or Poli vekkai noi), Enterotoxaemia, sheep pox, blue tongue disease and Foot and Mouth disease. These diseases are seasonal and endemic and lead to severe economic loss to livestock keepers. In a sheep herd death of animal goes up to 10 – 40 or so. The animals suffer causality and they have no immunity against such disease because of no good management practices. Again the disease spread to nearby herds, villages leading to a disaster in that locality.

Even though Government has disease preventive programmes the herders do not follow the schedule of vaccinating the animals for (various reasons) and also again the vaccinated flocks sometimes reportedly undergo mortality. Therefore vaccination is not always ensuring prevent death of animals. There is also a number of disease causing strains and therefore R&D is still on to trace out correct strain and thereby developing right vaccine to meet out the situation.

Nallampalayam and Vembur Panchayats are the dry areas where villageers depend on sheep rearing as their primary source of income. The farmers, agricultural laborers keep sheep herds ranging from 20 – 150 under each household and send their animals for open grazing or grazing in Korangadu pasture land. Farmers raise dryland crops and keep few cattle, other than sheep. They annually suffer economic loss casualty of animals due to epidemics. With this view the pilot study is proposed to test the best practice against mortality of sheep in Nallampalayam and Vembur area of Tamil Nadu.

• Promoting participatory action research to prevent mortality of sheep due to sheep pox, PPR (Tharai Kalisal or Poli vekkai noi) , Enterotoxaemia and Blue Tongue disease in 2 localities viz., Nallampalayam panchayat in Dharapuram block, Erode district and Vembur panchayat, Pudhur block, Thoothukudi district.
• Documenting the treatment, management practices and disseminate to neighboring village / region for wider replication.
• Strengthening livestock keepers association to cope with such calamities in future through material and non-material resources.

• Standardized and validated traditional practice, description about adoption of best management practices.
• Documentation of the process, content and outcome.
• A booklet on successful management of herds using best practices in local language.
• Livestock keepers / herds trained in the preparation and adoption of treatment / management practices.
• Livestock keepers groups equipped with material and non-material resources (technicalities, revolving fund for overcoming risks) to cope with and sustain risks, uncertainties during the period of disaster.