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The Iceland goat: past and present

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2011

Ó.R. Dýrmundsson
Ó.R. Dýrmundsson
Affiliation:
The Farmers Association of Iceland, Bændahöllin, IS-107 Reykjavík, Iceland
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Summary

The Iceland goat is a rare, isolated breed of Nordic origin dating back to the settlement of Iceland over 1 100 years ago. There is no evidence of goat imports since that time and the only goats which have been exported were a group of six included in a cashmere breeding programme in Scotland in 1986. Historical evidence and records from 1703 onwards, show that goats have been kept in all parts of the country, albeit in small numbers. This goat population was on the verge of extinction a century ago and reached a maximum of nearly 3 000 in 1930. At present there are 370 winterfed goats in 47 flocks located across the country. The goats are mainly kept as pets and are highly inbred. Efforts are being made to market the meat in a few food stores and restaurants, the skins for book binding and the milk as a health product, on a small scale. The cashmere, however, has so far not been harvested for marketing. A state conservation grant, available for individually recorded goats since the late 1960s, has contributed to the maintenance of this endangered breed. Generally, goats are found to be susceptible to the same diseases as sheep in Iceland. However, scrapie has never been diagnosed in goats.

Keywords

CashmereCharacteristicsConservationIceland goatHealthOrigin
Type
Research Articles
Information
Animal Genetic Resources/Resources génétiques animales/Recursos genéticos animales , Volume 36 , April 2005 , pp. 53 - 59
Copyright
Copyright © Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations 2005

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