Sustainable Goat Production in Adverse Environments: Volume I: Welfare, Health and Breeding

547 Pages·2017·13.87 MB·English

by  João Simões

João Simões
Editors
Carlos Gutiérrez
Sustainable
Goat Production
in Adverse
Environments:
Volume I
Welfare, Health and Breeding
Sustainable Goat Production in Adverse
Environments: Volume I
“Complicity and mutual affection”. Winning artistic photography of 2016 OIE Photo
CompetitionandTheHumanithyPhotoAwards2017(UNESCO).©JorgeBacelar
ã õ é
Jo o Sim es Carlos Guti rrez
(cid:129)
Editors
Sustainable Goat Production
in Adverse Environments:
Volume I
Welfare, Health and Breeding
123
Editors
João Simões Carlos Gutiérrez
Department ofVeterinary Sciences ResearchInstituteofBiomedicalandHealth
University of Trás-os-Montes andAlto Sciences
Douro University of LasPalmas deGran Canaria
Vila Real LasPalmas, Canary Islands
Portugal Spain
ISBN978-3-319-71854-5 ISBN978-3-319-71855-2 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71855-2
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2017959169
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To promote a better world for animal and
human populations.
Foreword
SinceitsdomesticationinthemountainsoftheFertileCrescentabout11,000years
ago,thegoatspecieshasknownatremendoussuccess.Goatswereassociatedwith
theNeolithicrevolutionofagricultureandhaveaccompaniedthepopulationsinthe
NearEast,Europe,Africa,andAsiasincemillenaries.Inthemoderntimes,goatis
now present over all continents and counts a little bit less than 1 billion heads,
composedofmorethan500breedsandhundredsofsystemsofproduction.Perse,
thissuccessisthesignofthesustainabilityofgoatlivestocksystems.Thesebreeds
are producing meat, fibers, skin, milk or cheese and contribute to provide manure
for family agriculture.
The reasons for this very large success of goat in the World can be found in
various characteristics of the species. The first one, associated with domestication
andwhichseemstobeamongthemostimportantones,istheremarkablesociability
of goats. Partly due to its small size, goats are described by their owners as very
curious animals, always very reactive and imaginative individuals; these specific
traitsareprobablyimportantfortheinterestoffarmersandtheirfamiliestowardthe
goat species. The second one is its adaptability to harsh conditions. Many goat
keepers know thatgoatsareable tofind bythemselvestheirsubsistence invarious
conditions, from rangelands to cities. The third one is their ability to provide
various products of high quality providing to the farmers good income from an
animaloflimitedinvestment.Forexample,goatmeatisabletoreachhighpricesin
India or Latin America, goat milk and cheese are of high value in Europe and the
Mediterranean Basin, Cashmere fiber from China are among the most valuable
fibers in the World.
Oneofthepeculiaritiesoftheverylargemajorityofgoatlivestocksystemsisto
be owned by poor families, which are able to use goat proteins for their own
familiar consumption and/or for selling them to the market. This last characteristic
of goat livestock systems is of specific importance for public policies because it
allows developing a very efficient way to increase protein consumption of the
poorest populations of the World.
Among the 500 breeds of goats existing in these systems, it exists a huge
variability of phenotypes. Size, colors, horns, growth rate, seasonality, prolificacy,
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viii Foreword
heat-stress resistance, milk production, carcass traits, disease resistance, etc. are
extremely different from one breed to another and this represent an incredible
treasury of biodiversity that we should preserve for the future generations of
farmers.
All over the world, in the recent years, scientific knowledge has been produced
to better know this goat species and try to propose improvements of the above
breeds aswellastheirconditionsofmanagement,inordertoincreaseproductivity
offlocks and, consequently, income offarmers. This knowledge should be largely
spread among the community of goat scientists and goat technicians in charge of
ruraldevelopment,aswellasamongthepolicymakers.Weshouldconvincethem,
basedonscientificevidence,thatthegoatspeciesisaveryinterestinganimalfora
very large part of the rural populations, especially from the developing countries.
Tours, France Philippe Chemineau, Ph.D.
UMR Physiologie de la Reproduction & des
Comportements, INRA, CNRS, Université de Tours,
IFCE, Agreenium, Nouzilly
Preface
Think Global, Act Local
Manyarcheologicalandgeneticmarkersevidencethatgoatswerethefirstherbivore
animalsdomesticatedaboutmorethan10,000yearsbp.approximately,andstarted
during a long-term process in agriculture-based human civilization. One (Capra
aegagrus) or more (Capra prisca, Capra falconeri and Capra nubiana) ancestral
wild goats originated the actual domestic goat (Capra hircus). The geographical
livestockmigration,togetherornotwithhumanpopulationmigrations,seemstobe
responsible for the worldwide goat dissemination at different times in the past,
developing a special adaptation to harsh environments, i.e., semi-arid, arid and
mountain regions of the world.
Historically,thisspeciescansurvivebrowsingfruits,leavesandsoftshoots,and
reproducing localpopulation according tothebiomass found intheirenvironment;
and also can return to a semi-wild or wild status (Feral goats). These feeding and
reproductivebehaviors,aswellastheeasyobtentionofmilk,meat,wool,andother
goat derivated products, and the relative low economical value of this small
ruminantkeepitasadvantageousspeciestocontributemainlyforthelivelihoodof
rural populations, but not exclusively, in developing countries. In the XX century,
some goat breeds, e.g., Saanen, Alpine and Boer, were genetically improved for
milkormeatproduction.Atthesametime,mainlyfromthesecondhalfofthepast
century, nutritional and reproductive (as tool) managements intensified goat pro-
duction in a similar way to that occured in high-producing dairy and beef cattle.
During last six decades, due to socioeconomic development in several human
populations and the intensive world commerce, the duality of production between
improved(high-producing)andnon-improved(low-producing)goats,regardingthe
respectiveproductionsystems,ismoreevident.Today,thetotalnumberofgoatsis
near to one billion, worldwide disseminated with more than 500 breeds, many
of them presenting distinct ecotypes according to their geographic isolation during
centuries. The majority of these goats (and breeds) are low-producing animals,
rearedinextensive,e.g.,pastoralism,productionsystemsinlandswithlowlevelof
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x Preface
biomass and small farming focused to the denominated “subsistence farming” per
se.However, these circumstances havehad anegative impact in many goat breeds
around the world being close to extinction.
For all above, the present book was thought as an attempt to determine the
current status of the goats worldwide, particularly in those less advantaged
ecosystems in which other high-producing livestock cannot be reared. Thus,
numerous researchers around the world that are involved in different scientific
projects concerning local goat production and health toward the sustainability of
this species intheir distinct harsh environmentshave gently contributed tomaking
this book a reality.
The number and extension of the different chapters have advised to divide this
book into two volumes according to the several topics and for an easier reading.
In Volume I socioeconomic aspects offarming production are included (Part I)
beingtheMediterraneanandEasternAfricaregionsthegeographicalexamples.An
approach to the familiar involvement and system productions challenges and
opportunities is also under reappraisal.
Part II considers reproductive strategies considering advanced (e.g., embryo
transfer) and low-cost reproductive technologies, which can be complimentary.
These, low-cost reproductive techniques, such as estrus synchronization regarding
artificial insemination, are a crucial step to improve reproductive management and
genetic resources of a local breed. Some of these techniques can be applied in a
natural way, avoiding or at least reducing the use of hormonal protocols.
Notwithstanding,theimpactofcrossbreedingwithforeigngoatsisalsoapproached.
Regarding the nutritional programs, the adequate use of shrub biomass in
mountainregions,ortheunconventionalfeedstuffsuseinaridregionsseemtobea
promising approach (Part III). In fact, feeding and nutritional managements are
crucial to prevent several metabolic and nutritional diseases in goats, considering
some functional traits in this species. Moreover, nutrition is closely related with
milk and meat organoleptic characteristic as well as their chemical composition,
being favored when the animals are fed with local biomass.
Goatdiseasesandhealthmanagement(PartIV)arefocusedtoseveraldiseasesin
semi-arid, arid and mountain regions, although those present in tropical and sub-
tropical regions are also considered. Infectious, transboundary and zoonotic dis-
easesareemphasized,andincludeparticularitiesofthegoatspecies.Manyofthese
infectious agents, such as bacteria, can have a negative impact in milk quality and
its derivate products. The health status is one of the factors responsive for animal
welfare,althoughtheenvironmentplaysamajorroleduetoheatandwaterstressin
several regions of the world (Part V). Nonetheless, the impact overall climate
change will be a challenge for researchers in next decades. Interesting approaches
ofconservationprioritiesofgoatpopulationsbasedongenomicscanalsobefound
(Part VI).Adistinct approachwiththeartificial breeding ofsix newgoatbreeds is
reported in China.
The volume II addresses phenotypic and genetic characteristics of more than
forty worldwide indigenous goat breeds belonging to different continents. They
have been the livelihood for people living in marginalized areas for centuries;