VN May 2023

Vetnuus | May 2023 6 In South Africa, dairy goat farming is not extensive, even though numbers have increased. Dairy goat numbers have shown a steady increase. In most countries and South Africa, the milk is used for making cheese. South Africa has seen a steady increase in the production of goat’s milk. 1 Genetics Goats have 60 chromosomes, of which 58 are acrocentric; the X chromosome is also acrocentric with the Y chromosome submetacentric. Even though sheep have 54 chromosomes, hybrids between them can happen and even be fertile. Polled Intersex Syndrome Polled animals are often preferred since injuries due to horns can be serious; however, in goats, the polled gene is dominant and linked to infertility. Homogenous polled goats, especially females, are intersex, varying from phenotypical female to almost appearing to be male. They are always infertile. Homogenous polled males seem normal, but fertility problems may occur. Intersex offspring can be limited by following a planned breeding program. Heterozygous males can be genetically identified and then used as sires. In practice, it is recommended to make sure one parent has horns, thus limiting infertile offspring. 14,27,28 Evolution of goat meat production (tons) in theWorld during the period 1990 - 2012 (Faostat, 2013). Year Change % Contribution % Meat/inhabitant kg/year 1990 2000 2012 2000-2012 2012 2012 Asia 1 728 968 2 565 559 3 747 229 +46.06 70.71 0.88 Africa 660 184 905 211 1 273 847 +40.72 24.03 1.19 Οceania 13 108 14 345 27 207 +89.66 0.51 0.73 Europe 138 421 125 257 117 744 -6.00 2.22 0.16 Ε.U. (28) 99 288 94 566 87 495 -7.48 1.65 0.17 Αmericas 114 708 121 282 134 309 +10.74 2.53 0.14 World 2 655 389 3 741 654 5 300 336 +41.66 100 0.75 Evolution of goat milk production (tons) in theWorld during the period 1990 - 2012 (Faostat, 2013). Year Change Contribution % Milk/inhabitant kg/year 1990 2000 2012 2000-2012 2012 2012 Asia 5 485 692 6 948 745 10 410 137 +49.81 58.35 2.44 Africa 2 055 653 2 777 245 4 308 399 +55.13 24.14 4.02 Οceania 25 28 48 +71.43 0.00002 0.0013 Europe 2 161 678 2 587 928 2 536 773 -1.98 14.20 3.43 Ε.U. (28) 1 725 329 1 982 607 1 927 712 -2.77 10.80 3.8 Αmericas 467 190 505 342 509 761 +0.87 3.31 0.62 World 9 980 102 12 819 288 17 846 118 +39.21 100.0 2.53 Leading Article