 Gastrointestinal nematodes infect ruminant livestock throughout the world and are an important cause of disease and production loss. Since their invention, producers have heavily relied on broad spectrum anthelmintics to help control these parasites, however, intensive use has resulted in widespread resistance issues in nematode populations, especially Haemonchus contortus.
Addressing the concerns of anthelmintic resistance, this book brings together research on management practices for controlling these nematodes in small ruminants. It covers: - The nematodes of greatest importance, such as Haemonchus contortus, Teladorsagia circumcincta, and Trichostrongylous spp., which frequently result in parasitic gastroenteritis; - Alternative approaches for nematode control, including the importance of adequate nutrition, methods for reducing pasture contamination, the role of genetics, grazing management systems and different forages; - Insights from the cattle industry, and where lessons can be learned across the species divide. With a focus on all small ruminants; sheep, goats and camelids, this book provides a useful resource for researchers and students of veterinary science, as well as practicing veterinarians and extension specialists.
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Many of our IGA members are interested in rangelands and pastoralists, given the importance of goats to pastoral livelihoods, and the centrality of sustainable pastures to goat keepers in diverse places. Please join this important event, and use the International Year to highlight the role of goats in these settings. Beth Miller, IGA Past President 
International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026 Opening Ceremony 2 December 2025 12:30–14:00 CET Sheikh Zayed Centre, FAO Headquarters, Rome | Hybrid Join us for the official launch of the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026, taking place on 2 December 2025 at the Sheikh Zayed Centre, FAO Headquarters in Rome, in a hybrid format. Proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly at its 76th session (Resolution A/RES/76/253), the IYRP 2026 aims to raise global awareness of the vital roles that rangelands and pastoralists play in food security, climate adaptation and mitigation, ecosystem health and sustainable rural livelihoods. The ceremony will feature remarks from the FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu, H.E. Khurelsukh Ukhnaa, President of Mongolia, and other dignitaries, followed by two panel discussions highlighting the environmental, social, and economic importance of rangelands and pastoralists. Coinciding with the opening ceremony, a five-day exhibition (1–5 December) will be held in the FAO Atrium, alongside the FAO Council, highlighting the key messages of the IYRP. The exhibition will feature a photo exhibition, promotional videos, cultural performances, and products from pastoralist communities, showcasing their contributions to sustainable food systems and ecosystem management. Please join the webcast here. For more information, please contact [email protected].  What is an Old Irish Goat The Old Irish Goat is Ireland’s indigenous landrace breed, now critically endangered and only found in remote mountain ranges roaming in feral herds. Interbreeding with imported domestic goats has caused major loss of the original the characteristics and adaptations. The Old Irish Goat is highly adapted to the Irish landscape and climate. The males in particular are impressive animals, featuring – long hair, coiffs, beards and sideburns, and impressive horns. The females have a more delicate frame and a matriarchal role with their lineage being the social thread of the herd. Collectively these attributes make them a fascinating part of Ireland’s natural heritage. After arriving in Ireland during the Neolithic age, about 5,000 years ago, they adapted naturally to the Irish landscape over time. They move differently to modern (improved) goat breeds due to their height to leg length which has resulted in a small stocky goat with short legs and a long body. Its ears are small and worn in a pricked position and its impressive horns are large, corrugated, and bend over the shoulders in individual ways. These goats have no tassels and are always bearded. The male beard blends into the long-haired coat which is rough and thick and hangs down to the belly line. Being cold weather goats, they have an underwool of cashmere. They have 12 different colour patterns which give rise to the description ‘coats of many colours’. Click here for more details.  12 Random Facts about the Old Irish Goat
Crossing borders Our work started in Uganda, and that is where almost all of the routine work continues. But over the years, we have had a number of enquiries from other countries; and have carried out some work in the neighbouring parts of Kenya. Recently, the international requests seem to be increasing. In this year alone, I have visited two such countries, and held a long Zoom meeting with a third. The map below shows where we are working in Uganda and also where we are reaching out to other countries.  Tanzania At the end of last year, I got an enquiry from an organisation based in Tanzania. They were concerned that the goats that they had been buying there might not be purebred dairy goats. In February, I was able to do some training about the types of dairy goat that are available in East Africa, and in Uganda specifically. The result was that they have bought some goats from Uganda, to complement the stock that they already had.   Ethiopia The Tanzania project was already very strong; and although the exchange of ideas was useful, it did not dramatically change what they were doing. At the other end of the scale, I had the opportunity to visit Ethiopia in June. It wasn’t primarily about dairy goats - I was accompanying Jacqui to a church conference focussing on discipleship. But they wanted me to explain about the goats as well. They were very interested, and realised that it fitted very well with an existing project that the Lutheran Church there were involved with. The biggest environmental challenge in Ethiopia is overgrazing. In some areas there are now programmes aimed at excluding the livestock from selected parts and allowing regeneration of native forests. The intention is that the regenerated forests will be cropped sustainably in what is known as a ‘cut and carry’ system. For that to work well, it is necessary to switch from large numbers of low-productivity animals to smaller numbers of high-yielding animals. That is where the dairy goats come in. There are considerable challenges to be overcome in order to establish a dairy goat programme from scratch, but if it can be made to work, it will be part of something very significant.   Rwanda And last week, from my office at St Margaret’s Church in Uxbridge, I had a discussion with someone in Rwanda, who wanted to start a dairy goat project near Kigali. Drawing on our experience in Uganda, and also my visits to another proposed project at Changugu in SW Rwanda, I was able to give advice on what should be feasible. We also talked about a similar proposal in Burundi. The projects in Ethiopia and Rwanda may or may not come to anything. But that is no different from new projects in Uganda. We get enquiries from a new areas; we hold discussions with local mobilisers; if that goes well we carry out community training. And finally we arrange for the ‘improver bucks’ to be delivered; and we hope that enough people mate their local goats with the new bucks, and then get milk from the offspring. But at any stage, the project can fail. In the map above, the areas of Uganda where there is a high density of red dots are places where it didn’t fail - either it is making steady progress, or in some cases ‘going viral’. The fainter, isolated red dots are areas where we have tried it, and are waiting to see how well it takes root. A wish list
There are two places on the map that are marked with yellow balloons. One is in South Sudan. There are currently many refugees from Kajo Keji living in Uganda. Some have now returned, but others are waiting for peace to be fully established before taking that risk. While in Uganda they heard about the goat project, and pleaded with us to take it across the border. But we are also waiting until we are sure that the area will be sufficiently peaceful. Another yellow balloon is in North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). On the Uganda side of the border there is a solid arc of red around the slopes of the Rwenzori Mountains. (The peaks, along which the border runs, are not populated.) But the red stripe stops abruptly at the border. The physical environment on the other side is the same, and the people are from the same tribes. But the security situation makes it impossible for a livestock programme to be established. Thanks for your interest, Dave Dowdy Donate now  Yan, Editor in Chief, Small Ruminant Research, announced excellent news!
Dear IGA members, Our Associate Editor, Dr. Veerasamy Sejian, has published a very updated book on goats and global climate change. Written and edited by an international team of experts on goats, livestock, animal agriculture, and climate-smart food systems, Sustainable Goat Production in Changing Climate will appeal to a broad audience, from researchers to livestock specialists, veterinarians, and policymakers in food and sustainability. Sustainable Goat Production in the Changing Climate aims to make the global scientific and academic communities aware of the potential of goats as a livestock of the future. When compared to more popular meat sources like cattle and swine, goats have a lower carbon footprint and can aid in mitigating the effects of climate change, as well as improving food production, poverty, and equity issues. This book will discuss the implications of climate change on goat production systems and emphasize the physiological potential of goats to adapt to erratically changing climatic conditions. Furthermore, the book includes chapters on strategies to mitigate the effects of climate change on goat production and highlights novel technologies used to assess the impact of heat stress in goats. Technology transfer strategies and policy-related issues have also been covered. Key Features of this book: •Explores the potential of goats as future livestock species for animal-origin foods •Summarizes the impact of climate change on goats and goat production systems •Proposes technological interventions, ranging from management to bio-technological solutions •Identifies gaps in technology transfer activities and policymaking and provides solutions I think that an announcement in the IGA newsletter would be of benefit to IGA members, who will certainly appreciate this book. The book can be accessed through the following link https://shop.elsevier.com/books/sustainable-goat-production-in-the-changing-climate/sejian/978-0-443-13525-5 All the best. Serge-Yan Landau S.Y. Landau, scientist emeritus Department of Natural Resources, Agricultural Research Organization, Rishon leZion, Israel Editor in Chief, Small Ruminant Research (Elsevier) https://www.agri.gov.il/en/people/833.aspx  These goats caught a ride with the Mounties (click here to jump to the original article) Volunteers bring trailers to help 29 horses flee Holyrood wildfire. People across Conception Bay had to respond quickly to evacuation orders this week due to two raging wildfires. For animal owners, evacuating also meant finding somewhere to put their animals. In Holyrood, one rancher had to figure out how to move 29 horses. Another pet owner had to call emergency services for help evacuating nine animals. In Carbonear, an animal rescue helped all kinds of animals. When the wildfire started in Holyrood, N.L. on Monday, the first thing Sliding K Ranch owner Katrina Butler thought about was her horses. "Honestly, the first thing that came to mind was let's just get them out … then we can worry about where they went," Butler told CBC Radio's The St. John's Morning Show on Tuesday. Butler said her own trailer can only hold four horses, so she had to ask for help from others on Facebook. She said people brought eight trailers to help with the effort. The horses are now safe at four different stables in St. John's. Butler said she is grateful to all of the people who offered help. "It was pretty awesome to see everybody show up, and come together and offer everything that they could," she said. Nine animals and no car Evacuating wasn't easy for Holyrood resident Leah Snook, who lives with her mom, dad, sister and nine animals. Snook said she only heard about the evacuation through social media, while home with her mom and cousin — with no transportation. She said if they didn't have Facebook, she wouldn't have known what was happening. "We were kind of watching all these cars going in and out our road, and we'd walk up to the end of the driveway, and no one would really stop to tell us what was going on," she said. Once she learned she had to evacuate, Snook said she had to figure out how to get out with two cats, two dogs, five chickens. While Snook waited, she said they harnessed the dogs, put the cats in carriers and placed the chickens in plastic tubs. She said family members tried to come pick them up, but were turned around at the Seal Cove checkpoint. Snook says her family told authorities at the checkpoint that they were still there, so she had hoped someone would come and help. But she said no one came. "We were kind of waiting around for three hours to figure out who was going to come pick us up when we had no transportation," she said. Snook said the response could have been better. "We actually had to call 911, and get search and rescue to come up and get us," she said Search and rescue crews showed up within half and hour, and brought them to the evacuation centre. Snook said the animals were held at the evacuation centre for some time, but now they're staying with family. Four goats evacuated by RCMPMeanwhile, a wildfire in Kingston, N.L. also forced many Conception Bay North communities to evacuate this week. A Carbonear-based animal rescue group decided to help by collecting donations for evacuees, and providing a place to put their animals. New Life Rescue volunteer, Shannon Layman, said they collected donations at Re-Tail New Life Rescue Thrift Store in Carbonear. "Anything from toiletries, to food for the animals," said Layman. "And when we get a call from the evacuation centre to send anything down, then [a volunteer] goes with a truckload." Layman said the backyard of one of the volunteers seems to be turning into a small farm. She said the Mounties transported four goats to the backyard — driving them there in the back of their cruisers.  Apply to secure a 5.000 USD Scholarships to improve your academic experience
The WVA and MSD Animal Health are delighted to announce that the applications to the 2025 Veterinary Student Scholarship Programme are now open! We will attribute 40 scholarships of 5000 USD to students from countries in the regions of Latin America, Africa, North Africa/Middle East and Asia/Oceania. Visit the Programme page to learn all the details and how to apply. MSD Animal Health and the World Veterinary Association encourage qualified students to submit their applications and wish success to all candidates. For more details, click here Bahaaddin Alemzadeh1, Ahmad Khayat2, Bahareh Taheri Dezfuli3, Vahid Ghasemi4, Nader Papi5, Farhad Mirzaee5 1, 3. Animal Science Research Department. Khuzestan Agricultural and Natural Recourses Research and Education Center. AREEO. Ahwaz, Iran. 2, Animal Science Research Department. Safiabad Agricultural and Natural Recourses Research and Education Center. AREEO. Dezful, Iran. 4, Improvement of Animal Production Administration of Khuzestan. Agriculture-Jihad Organization of Khuzestan province 5Agricultural Research Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Animal Science Research Institute of Iran, Karaj. History of goat production in Khuzestan According to statistics of Improvement of Animal Production Administration of Khuzestan province (2016), there are about 398794 heads emigrants’ goats and 947877 heads non-emigrant’s goats (as total 1346671 heads) in this province, which are reared by rural families and tribes. It seems that the name of this goat comes from "Najd”, which means a wide and long land. Because of some historical evidences, Najd was a wide area in the Iranian plateau, where was covered the western foothills of the Zagros Mountains and Khuzestan province. Geographic Distribution Najdi goat as a native goat of Khuzestan province is distributed from the south foothills of Zagros Mountains in the east and southeast of Khuzestan to the coasts of Persian Gulf. Also, it is found in some regions of the north of Khuzestan. Population Because of undesirable crossing to other breeds, there is not accurate statistics about Najdi population and a few of this native mass - having minimum phenotype of the standard breed - are observed in the herds. But, it is estimated some 2500 heads. Unfortunately, this goat is one of the endangered breeds that need more attention to keep it. Production systems This breed is reared in traditional flocks, and industrial farming has not been experienced for this breed yet. This animal is a dairy goat. Job creation In the province, there are 2,7000 sheep and goat breeders which 30% of them have only goat and the others merely reared sheep or mixed flock of sheep and goats. Although the breeders (rural and tribes flock) usually do not have much technical information about rearing of this animal, they keep goats in order to improve their economic situation and also because of their great interest in this profession. Cultural, social and economic relationship with nomadic and rural communities Najdi goats are often kept and reared in relatively small flocks (with average of 15 heads). It should be noted that, contrary to other native goats, the Najdi goat cannot walk and migrate to another location with long distances. Therefore, because of this reason Najdi goats are rarely found among nomadic flocks that are constantly being moved, or in the flocks that they use feeding in pasture for a long time, and it is not compatible to this type of farming. For this reason, it is typically reared in urban and rural areas and in the houses with traditional system. Breeders use pastures near the city (up to 3-2 km) to feed goats, in addition to manual feeding. Appearance characters General color of Najdi goat is 55.4% light to dark brown, 25% white to dark white, 4% black and 15.6 % mixed color in female goats and is 63.3% light to dark brown, 16% white to dark white, 2.4% black and 16% mixed color in male goats. But, its main color is light to dark brown. Usually, there is the dark line on Najdi back, from neck to tail as its main characteristic. Also, the color of it's around the muzzle, the end of feet, sometimes both sides of the face and eye orbit is darker than the color of body. Najdi goat has relatively small head and short minikin muzzle, flat forehead and pensile medium ears. It is recognized also by long minikin neck, narrow flat back and no long feet.  Products applications Breeders make dairy products from this goat's milk, which are used by themselves. Despite the bad nutrition, management and health condition, this animal has relatively good milk production. Najdi goat meat is popular because of tenderness and delicious. Conducted activities to identify and breed
Proposed solutions to improve its production
 Fig. 1. Male (left) and Female (right) of Najdi goat
The comparative advantage of urban goat production
Abstract Background Urban agriculture significantly contributes to food security. The two primary components of urban agriculture are livestock production and horticulture. The goat, Capra hircus, is one of the commonly raised food animals. Goats can be used to generate income, produce milk, meat, skins, furs (hairs) and manure and provide various sociocultural and ecological services. Objectives This study evaluates the significance of urban goat production and recommends ways to lessen the adverse impacts of urban goat production. Methods This report involved an in-depth interview with seven key informants in Adama and Addis Ababa cities. Results Goats can thrive in limited urban open spaces, scavenge leftovers from homes and open markets and browse on open public land. Goats can be incorporated into urban agriculture, in so doing contributing to a circular economy. Goats can thrive on a limited supply of water and feed and require less care and space. Goat farming is used to mitigate the adverse impact of climate change. Goats are naturally active, which makes them better at avoiding traffic accidents. Goats can be used to control bush encroachment. Goat farming in cities improves land use efficiency and food security. Being friendly animals, goats can be utilized to play with kids, and they can be a basic piece of metropolitan ecotourism. However, goats can harm urban green spaces; therefore, to avoid issues of this kind, goat production must be zoned. Conclusions Urban goat farming could add a new dimension to urban food security. Extensive pieces of empirical evidence need to be generated to enhance the adoption of urban goat farming. [Review] Goat Production, Supply Chains, Challenges, and Opportunities for Development in Vietnam: A Review Simple Summary: Over the last decade, the total goat population in Vietnam increased more than two-fold, from 1.29 million to 2.65 million heads. In spite of a transformation from extensive grazing to cut-and-carry intensive systems, more than three-fourths of goats in Vietnam are raised by small-scale producers. The demands for goat meat and milk are significantly increasing, leading to pressure for imports. Goat marketing primarily takes place through informal channels and is dominated by smallscale producers and traders. The formal goat market is poorly developed. The marketing research and statistical data on the goat value chain are scarce. This situation has led to an inconsistency in livestock supply and quality and, as a result, unstable pricing. Information and documentation regarding both horizontal and vertical linkages in the supply chain remain limited. Despite receiving strong support from the government and experiencing high demand, goat production and marketing systems have yet to achieve their full potential. This review overviews the current status of goat production and supply chains in Vietnam. It also identifies the main challenges and opportunities of, and provides suggestions through which improve, the nation’s goat production and marketing. Ahmad Bitaraf1, Nader Papi2, Farhad Mirzaei2 1. Animal Science Department, Yazd Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, AREEO, Yazd, Iran. 2. Agricultural Research Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Animal Science Research Institute of Iran, Karaj.  Fig.1. Male (left) and female (right) of Nadoshan goat History of goat breeding in the province In the past, Nadoshan town situated next to silk way was the place for passage of caravans, but now due to far distance from the main shuttle roads, past prosperity has been abated. This town is still one of the main centers of dairy production and also has many monuments. The husbandry industry in Nadoshan which is accounted as the most important and popular occupation in Yazd province belong to antique time. The time when a person known as Nadoshan came to today’s city to find water and suitable land. Nadoshan took out water from the ground by digging under –ground canals and started cultivation. Beside agriculture he also bought some livestock and brought them to Nadoshan. Thus, husbandry in Nadoshan region with the least detrimental to nature had been continued for several centuries, as always ranching and pastures conservation was always being complementary to each other. But today unfortunately with the existence and development of marines in this area, we are witness of pastures detrimental and demoralize of Nadoshan red breed, a kind of destruction which happening very fast, but their messages and effects are remaining in the area for a long time. Geographic distribution areas Nadoshan goat is native of Nadoshan place, but also distributed in other regions of province as in oghda district. Nadoshan is widespread at 90 km distance of province center and at geographical range of 46ﻣ, 31ﻣ to 15ﻣ, 32ﻣ latitude and 24ﻣ, 52ﻣ to 53ﻣ altitude. Average raining annually is 140mm. Goats for feeding are dependent on pasture and in winter, hand feeding for 15 to 30 days is performed. Population According to the statistics offered by Jihad-e Agriculture, the population of this race accounted for 70000 and the size of herd is changing from 150 to 500 heads. The methods of rearing Production and maintaining of Nadoshan goat herd is done by pasturing method and considering to the custom of special rearing, accurate partitioning of pasture sites in that region, seasonal birthing in herds and group migration at short time, goat keepers in their herding calendar during mating season use suitable selected bucks. To prevent autumn parturition in monsoon years, herd owners put bucks in separate herds and grazing with proper feed and regards hygienic principles, which terminological call them male pasturing. Then at the time of mating season leave the bucks for mating with does at suitable proportion. For this purpose, the bucks herd is not kept at special place and every year considering the pasture situation at regions that the aggregation of hers is low, they are grazing and access of farmers to them is almost the same. Supplementary feeding in this herd include barley and concentrate as flashing diet and during arid season for recovery of fiber in diet, straw also added to the supplement feed. Job creation According to the statistics offered by Jihad-e-Agriculture, Nadoshan area with about 400000 hectare of pasture land is the most important pastures of Yazd province. Approximately 200 households directly and 100 households indirectly engaged in livestock breeding and in this way, earning living costs. Besides, in Nadoshan due to different governmental services, migration of rural people to the cities has been stopped and this influenced on farmers to stay and rear Nadoshan goat. Appearance features Nadoshan goat is of rare and native breed of Iran which is small in size and produce milk and fuzz. The color of this breed is brown to dark red and majority of them are russet in color, but has white spots on head, hand, leg and ear. Some of goats are hornless but bucks have horn. This breed distributed in all cities of the province the most important breeding index of this animal is its high resistance against hard climate condition, especially highly tolerance to thirst and hunger during drought and long walking in pasture particularly at low rainy years. Table 1. Body dimensions of Nadoshan goat (cm)  Table 2. Annual production of Nadoshan goat (Kg)  Table 3. Reproductive characteristics of Nadoshan goat  Table 4. Economic traits of Nadoshan goat  Export As sustenance and existence of Nadoshan goat is on the base of economics of animal husbandry, the first step should be universal registration of this breed. The brand of Nadoshan goat products which are known for country must be tried to be global. According to the conservation and maintaining the native knowledge of Nadoshan region which is remained from the past races and with longtime of 8 thousand years, must use properly this heritance with desirable programming for improving Nadoshan animal husbandry. In this case proper situation for exporting different products with brand of Nadushanian goat like cheese which has tasty flavor would be assembled. This animal due to suitable meat production, excess consumption within the country, sold with substantial price in abroad markets such as Persian Gulf states. Items use of products The produced milk is supplied as raw or different processed products specially yoghourt and cheese (famous Nadoshan cheese) to native market or even outside of province. Cheese of Nadoshan goat is very desirable, with flavour and special taste which is exported to the next provinces. However, the goats of this breed provide considerable fuzz with high quality for utilization in handmade items. The Nadoshan manure is used as the best fertilizer for pistachio trees. Measures for identifying and genetic improvement In 1986 the operation of improving sheep and goat plan started in whole country, and in Yazd province in 1989 the plan started with 10 herds containing 5 goat herds and 5 sheep herds with the following purposes: 1. Conduction of animal breeding program in the herd. 2. Creation of industrial units of sheep and goat in vast area assigned to applicants. 3. Supply of produced bucks with high reproduction score in order to increase production of animals Suggesting guidelines to improve performance 1. Observe the proportion of animal population and capacity of pasture, with severe supervision of natural resources office to control this case and conflict with trespasser people. 2. Support of directors from farmers during drought for presenting subsidized forage and buying extra livestock with suitable price.  Fig.2. Flock of Nadoshan goat
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