Livestock breed purity:
Whose goal?
Chanda Nimbkar
Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute
Phaltan, Maharashtra, India
and
Board member
International Livestock Research Institute
Public talk
Arbaminch University, 11 April 2019

Presentation to stimulate thinking
• Does a livestock population have to be defined as a
‘breed’ to carry out its genetic improvement?
• ‘Restrictive’ vs. ‘Inclusive’ uses of the ‘breed’
concept
• What are the goals of the livestock keeper vs those
of the scientists?

Definition of a ‘Breed’
• Dictionary: A stock of animals within a species,
having a distinctive appearance and typically having
been developed by deliberate selection
• Woolliams and Toro, 2007: ‘A breed is a breed if
enough people say it is’.
• FAO, 2007: ‘A breed is either a sub-specific group of
domestic livestock with identifiable external
characteristics that enable it to be separated by
visual appraisal from other groups within the same
species’.

Flexible/Inclusive definition of a
‘Breed’
• A group for which geographical and/or cultural
separation from phenotypically similar groups has
led to acceptance of its separate identity. (FAO,
2007)
• Excessive emphasis on finer points of phenotypic
features is likely to leave large numbers of animals
outside the purview of development projects,
leading to a loss of genetic diversity.

Latest tally: 34 registered
goat breeds
Total goats: 135 million
Excellent adaptability (in their
agro-climatic regions) and
production potential but NEED
effective, systematic
breeding programs
BUT 70% of the goats do not
Belong to any of these breeds.
They are ‘not described’ yet

True-to-type Osmanabadi
• Colour
- Completely black
- Black with brown stomach and underside of
tail, brown markings from eyelids to mouth
and on borders of ears
- Slightly white or brown long hair on hind
legs
- Black ears or white spots on ears (morkani)
• Horns
- Backward and downward bending horns or
polled

Non-true-to-type Osmanabadi
Outward, upward horns
White patches on head or other body parts

Non-Osmanabadi breed type
• Local breeds
(so-called non-descript (?))
• Osmanabadi crosses

‘desi’ or so-called non-descript animals (breed types)
just as adapted and productive as ‘recognized’ breeds
Breed type of does Number of does LSM ± s.e.
True-to-type Osmanabadi (TT) 92 79.9 ± 4.7
Non true-to-type Osmanabadi (NTT) 169 87.1 ± 4.1
Non-Osmanabadi (NO) 186 87.4 ± 3.8
Least Squares Means of 100-day milk yield of does in three
villages measured using the weigh-suckle-weigh method
True to Type Non-True to Type Non-Osmanabadi

Black Bengal goat breed in Bihar, India

Thank you