Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
3
Conservation of Goat Genetic Resources
J.N.B. Shrestha , PhD and S. Galal , PhD
KEY TERMS
Domestic animal—animal that has been bred in captivity for economic profi t to the human community.
Feral animal—a domestic animal that has reverted to its wild state following its escape or its release into an environ-
ment favorable for propagation.
Breed—a subgroup of domestic livestock and poultry with defi nable and identifi able morphological characteristics
within a species.
Breeds at risk—according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, those breeds with
<1,000 females, with <20 males, or with a total population of < 1,200.
Globalization—the process of unifying people or a local phenomenon into a single society and function as a global
phenomena.
Conservation—analysis and protection of biological diversity in the world.
OBJECTIVES
By completing this chapter, the reader will acquire knowledge on:
￿ The most likely dates and places where goats and sheep were domesticated
￿ The evolution of the goat
￿ How the goat spread from its place of origin to different parts of the world
￿ How primitive goats developed to become highly specialized modern breeds
￿ The degree of diversity among goat breeds, populations, and landraces in the world
￿ The alarming trend in the loss of domestic animal diversity
￿ The need to characterize various domestic animals taking into consideration their population size
￿ The need to conserve those breeds, populations, and landraces that are considered endangered or at risk of
extinction
￿ The social and economic importance of goats in poverty alleviation
INTRODUCTION
Creative human activity, which began with domestication
of goats over 10,000 BC combined with natural causes, has
resulted in a colossal amount of inherent potential among
1,153 goat breeds worldwide (FAO, 2009) for economi-
cally important morphological characteristics and produc-
tion performance. Many of the traditional breeds in the
industrialized nations and indigenous breed populations in
the developing countries are being replaced by commercial
breeding stocks derived from a narrow genetic base. These
commercial breeds have outstanding productivity and are
capable of meeting the demand for quality food and food
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