Indigenous veld goats: honed over the ages for functionality

Southern Africa's indigenous veld goats have developed naturally over millennia into outstanding, efficient animals based on natural functional ability.

- Annelie Coleman

Goat production plays an important role in eradicating poverty and promoting food security in South Africa. Rural areas are dominated by indigenous veld goat (IVG) breeds and their uncharacterised crosses. These breeds are adaptable to low inputs and prevailing environmental conditions, according to a study done by the School of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences' Department of Agricultural Economics and Animal Production at the University of Limpopo and the Agricultural Research Council's Biotechnology Platform.

The study emphasised the goats' ability to withstand and survive harsh conditions. In this study, the natural genetic diversity and adaptability of IVGs was emphasised. The study animals showed a promising gene flow and shared genome ancestry.

The motto of the South African Indigenous Veld Goat Breeders' Society is to not spoil, transform or improve these veld goats out of existence. The IVGs form part of an age-old African genotype, and the society's breed standards are accordingly based on fertility, hardiness, and visual appraisal for lack of genetic defects. Humans played almost no role in the development of the respective IVG breeds.

IT IS KNOWN FOR ITS EXCELLENT FERTILITY, NONSEASONAL BREEDING CYCLE, AND OUTSTANDING MATERNAL QUALITIES

Conformation related to functional efficiency, without affecting the IVG's inherent traits, is vital in order to maintain breed standards and integrity, the society says on its website.