**3. The origin**

The origin of the current goat breeds is not clearly known. It is believed to have been originated from wild goats found in Asia Minor. The origin of the domestic goat is attributed to the wild species of the Quaternary: *Capra aegagrus* (**Figure 1**), *Capra falconeri* (**Figure 2**), and *Capra prisca*, being disseminated by all the continents and all originating from different regions of Asia [4, 5]. The main morphological elements of differentiation were related to the insertion, section, and configuration of the horns. The elements of comparative morphology and the interspecific crossbreeding experiments suggest that the bezoar (*Capra hircus aegagrus*) from Southwest Asia is probably its most significant ancestor. Scimitar horns are common and probably due to the influence of this species. It is believed that another species already extinct,

like the *C. falconeri*, would have given rise to the majority of the breeds of India and Central Asia, giving them characteristics such as the long and coarse coat and the predominance of

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the black color over the others [4].

**Figure 2.** *Capra falconeri* [7].

**Figure 1.** *Capra aegagrus* [6].

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**Figure 1.** *Capra aegagrus* [6].

In the last 50 years, global goat populations have increased by about 240%, while other livestock species have maintained or decreased their populations. Currently, there are about 1 billion goats around the world. More than 90% are located in Asia and Africa and only 1.8% in Europe. While in the countries, where goat production is massive, high adaptability to the environment is one of the main breed characters, in the developed countries, most of the goats

In rural areas of developing countries, the contribution of goats is highly valued and has an important role in feeding the populations, an item that is often not adequately recognized when comparing goats with sheep and cattle. In fact, goats are extremely intelligent animals, very agile, and independent, with a high level of resistance to diseases, much better than other

Despite the fact that in recent decades there has been a great progress in research aimed at increasing the goat productivity, there is still a great work to be done, namely in the applicability of the different races to the different environmental realities of the underdeveloped and developing countries. In these areas, the current and potential importance of goat production combined with the use of breeds that have not yet been fully selected and exploited will certainly be a reality in the near future. At both local and macroeconomic levels, goats will certainly be an animal production that will enhance the livelihoods and sustainable develop-

To prepare this theme, a documentary research was carried out to analyze world goat products and its production systems. The main sources of information were scientific papers,

This chapter covers the broader framework for goat's production systems, milk and meat production, and major advantages and disadvantages to the animal, environment, and

The origin of the current goat breeds is not clearly known. It is believed to have been originated from wild goats found in Asia Minor. The origin of the domestic goat is attributed to the wild species of the Quaternary: *Capra aegagrus* (**Figure 1**), *Capra falconeri* (**Figure 2**), and *Capra prisca*, being disseminated by all the continents and all originating from different regions of Asia [4, 5]. The main morphological elements of differentiation were related to the insertion, section, and configuration of the horns. The elements of comparative morphology and the interspecific crossbreeding experiments suggest that the bezoar (*Capra hircus aegagrus*) from Southwest Asia is probably its most significant ancestor. Scimitar horns are common and probably due to the influence of this species. It is believed that another species already extinct,

are of genetically selected breeds for high production [2].

ment of the world's poorest populations [3].

**2. Material and methods**

farmer.

**3. The origin**

books, and statistical data from FAO.

ruminant species.

352 Goat Science

**Figure 2.** *Capra falconeri* [7].

like the *C. falconeri*, would have given rise to the majority of the breeds of India and Central Asia, giving them characteristics such as the long and coarse coat and the predominance of the black color over the others [4].

According to the majority of the authors, the enormous variety of breeds (although much smaller than that of the ovine species) is grouped by their area of dispersion in three large groups or trunks: the European, *Ovis capra europaea*; the Asian, *Ovis capra asian*; and the African, *Ovis capra africana*. The European trunk belonged to *C. aegagrus*, the Asian trunk to *C. falconeri* and *C. prisca*, and the African trunk to *Capra nubiana*, another ancestral species. Some authors consider *C. aegagrus*, the only ascendant of domestic goats or the main progenitor. This one has long horns and is still found in the mountains of southwestern Asia [5].

The identification of the geographic origins and ancestral forms of the current goats has been subjective, since the scarcity of data requires extensive speculative exercises of considerable controversy. Theories that have broader consensus suggest that the origin of goats lies in a set of primitive goat populations that have evolved in the arid and mountainous regions of Central Asia and Southeast Asia. Unlike the sheep, goat migrations allowed their spread to the Southern Europe and to the Northern Africa without having populated the American continent [8].

Goats do not have as many breeds as sheep, and unlike them, they easily adapt to the harsh environments if they have the opportunity. Like the sheep, goats were probably among the first animals to be domesticated by man. These animals are also considered to be one of the first helpers of man, for in addition to providing manure, skins, hair for cloths and shelters, he gave to the primitive man meat and milk for food [9].

The goat must have been domesticated at the same time as the sheep in the East during the Neolithic period about 7000 BC, and traces of this species are found in the lacustrine cities of Western Europe, as well as in archaeological evidence and in excavations of the neolithic places.

other hand, forest grazing is an excellent productive alternative, associating in an integrated way the forest and animal productions. It helps to control unwanted weed growth with a consequent strong reduction of fire risk and, on the other hand, is often a valuable complement to the farmer or forest producer income, while it also helps to fertilize forest soils with their waste. To confirm this evidence, we can also verify in **Figure 4** that goat production reaches

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In **Figure 5**, we can see similar results to those in **Figure 4**, but here we can see the distribution

**Figure 5** shows that, only in the referred 20 years, the world goat population (from which there is a register) go from slightly over 600 million head in 1994 to over 1 billion in 2014, 67% rise in just two decades, much higher than the world population growth in the same period,

The Asian continent clearly leads the world goat production between 1994 and 2014, a percentage well above the sum of the non‐Asian world goat production (**Figure 6**). Then, we can find the African continent with about a third of the total, and finally, with very low percentage values, we have America, Europe, and Oceania, in this order, which make up, in total, about

These figures complement and confirm those reported in **Figure 4**, where sub‐Saharan Africa, China, and India showed their worldwide leadership in the production of this species.

. Here we find the highest values in Mexico,

high levels in the most important forest and mountain areas.

**Figure 3.** Global distribution of goats by country in number of heads [11].

northeastern Brazil, sub‐Saharan tropical strip, India, and Eastern China.

by animal density, in number of heads per km2

which was about 28.5% [12].

7% of global goat production.
