Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
those countries. Goats from South China possibly were
introduced into those countries as well as South Asia. The
Kambing Katjang or Pea goats in Malaysia and Indonesia
that are raised for meat have a morphology similar to that
of indigenous goats in the Philippines, Taiwan, and the
islands of southwest Japan. These goats also bear some
resemblance to the South China goat and the Black Bengal
goat. The Jamunapari and Anglo-Nubian breeds probably
share a common heritage to the indigenous goats of
Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
In the last few centuries, explorers and conquerors
brought goats during their attempts to fi nd and colonize
new lands. Goats were not only easy to adapt and manage,
but also were portable, plentiful, and inexpensive. Goats
accompanied voyages from Spain and Portugal to the
Americas and from France and the U.K. to North America.
Goats also accompanied voyages from the U.K. to
Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, and from Africa
to the Caribbean countries. The abundance of forage and
vegetation, as well as freedom from predators and com-
municable diseases in sparsely populated regions, resulted
in the expansion of goat numbers worldwide. This also
contributed to a large feral population from goats that
escaped or were released into the wilderness. The export
of large numbers of goats into the colonies continued for
many years resulting in their expansion worldwide. Goat
populations established in distant lands were exposed to
both natural selection and skillful breeding practices that
resulted in a tremendous increase in phenotypic variability.
Specifi c genetic combinations became established through
centuries of evolutionary processes worldwide. Genetic
diversity in goat populations has potential merit as an
important resource for the future.
Dishley, U.K., that involved combining stocks with similar
morphology and production in accordance with the breed-
ers' vision, recording of the pedigree, registration, and
maintenance of herdbooks established by breed societies
(Lush, 1945 ). Bakewell 's message was “ like begets like ”
and “breed the best to the best.” Concurrently, the estab-
lishment of rigid breed standards encouraged the selection
of goats with uniform morphological characteristics and
the requirement for detailed record keeping of pedigreed
animals that occasionally included performance measure-
ments. Pure breeds were widely sought and promoted as
seed stocks of choice in show rings, exhibitions, and auc-
tions. To ensure the purity of the breed, introduction of any
breeding animal that was not registered in the same herd-
book was offi cially prohibited regardless of its genetic
merit. The concept of breed was readily accepted and
became established in many countries resulting in the
development of numerous breeds worldwide.
In the 1920s, South African farmers from the Eastern
Cape crossed indigenous goats kept by the Hottentot and
Bantu tribes with imported Nubian and Indian goats to
produce the Boer breed (Skinner, 1972). In the following
years, selection for body size and conformation resulted
in goats that excelled in meat production effi ciency. In
Europe, the Alpine (e.g., Saanen and Toggenburg) and
Anglo-Nubian breeds were developed as dairy goats. In
the U.S., the Spanish goat, named to be distinct from the
Angora and dairy breeds, is of Mexican origin and accounts
for most of the goat meat produced in the U.S. The highly
variable appearance of these goats may be attributed to
natural selection and the indiscriminate crossing with the
Nubian (syn., Anglo-Nubian) or Toggenburg breeds.
In India, goats were classifi ed according to both their
primary product and their distribution into the following:
cashmere-like goats close to the Himalayan mountain
range; milk goats in the northern dry areas; black meat
goats on the Deccan plateau; and small meat goats adjoin-
ing the Bay of Bengal. Many indigenous populations were
further classifi ed into some 20 goat breeds on the basis of
having morphological characteristics distinct from other
breed populations with complementary local names in the
vicinity. Pakistan classifi ed goats on the basis of hair and
coat smoothness characteristics into 25 breeds. Goats
found in the tropical, subtropical, and high mountain cli-
mates were exposed to humid, very dry, dry, and humid
and cold environments. These goats were classifi ed into
breeds according to primary products with 34 for meat, 12
for milk, 8 for prolifi cacy, and 3 each for pashmina and
skin production. According to the FAO (2009), 1,153
breeds of goats currently exist in the world.
DEVELOPMENT OF BREEDS
The FAO (2000) defi nes breed as “either a sub-specifi c
group of domestic livestock with defi nable and identifi able
external characteristics that enable it to be separated by
visual appraisal from other similarly defi ned groups within
the same species or a group for which geographical and/
or cultural separation from phenotypically similar groups
has led to acceptance of its separate identity.” The
Thoroughbred horse fi rst was listed in the General Stud
Book in 1791; it included only horses that had won impor-
tant races. Shire horses, Longhorn cattle, and Leicester
sheep followed. The fi rst herdbook in the western world
was the Coates' Herd topic for Shorthorn Cattle, estab-
lished in 1822 in the U.K. This led to the widespread
acceptance of a concept developed by Robert Bakewell of
