A U.S. federal program is asking the help of Angora goat breeders in banking sperm to guarantee the survival of the breed. Angora numbers have declined from a million head in 1997 to 120,000 head today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.

The declining numbers are blamed on low mohair profits, labor shortages, predators, and the removal of range land from traditional agriculture, said Dr. Dan Waldron, a Texas AgriLife Research geneticist, in San Angelo.

“With our rapidly changing world economic situation, a breed such as the Angora goat, that was once in demand and therefore had a substantial population, can quickly fall out of favor,” Waldron said. “This can cause genetic diversity to be lost as ranches switch to a different breed or exit the industry.”

Currently, the U.S. Angora goat population has substantial genetic diversity, but it would take decades to restore the population should disease or other catastrophes eliminate the breed, said Dr. Frank Craddock, a goat specialist at Texas AgriLife.

Angora goat breeders can safeguard the breed by donating their registered goats’ sperm to the USDA’s National Animal Germplasm Program, said Dr. Harvey Blackburn, who heads the program from Fort Collins, Colo.

Banking Angora genetic material also could help breeders solve future problems with innovative genetic strategies, Craddock said.

“In the future, we may discover the genetic basis for how the Angora goat can be productive on marginal range lands where many animals could not survive,” Craddock said. “We may discover that Angora goats have a gene that makes them resistant to some as yet unknown disease. If we conserve the genetics, we will have more tools to solve problems with in the future.”

For more information on the Angora germplasm project contact Waldron or Craddock at 325-653-4576.

A U.S. federal program is asking the help of Angora goat breeders in banking sperm to guarantee the survival of the breed. Angora numbers have declined from a million head in 1997 to 120,000 head today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.

The declining numbers are blamed on low mohair profits, labor shortages, predators, and the removal of range land from traditional agriculture, said Dr. Dan Waldron, a Texas AgriLife Research geneticist, in San Angelo.

“With our rapidly changing world economic situation, a breed such as the Angora goat, that was once in demand and therefore had a substantial population, can quickly fall out of favor,” Waldron said. “This can cause genetic diversity to be lost as ranches switch to a different breed or exit the industry.”

Currently, the U.S. Angora goat population has substantial genetic diversity, but it would take decades to restore the population should disease or other catastrophes eliminate the breed, said Dr. Frank Craddock, a goat specialist at Texas AgriLife.

Angora goat breeders can safeguard the breed by donating their registered goats’ sperm to the USDA’s National Animal Germplasm Program, said Dr. Harvey Blackburn, who heads the program from Fort Collins, Colo.

Banking Angora genetic material also could help breeders solve future problems with innovative genetic strategies, Craddock said.

“In the future, we may discover the genetic basis for how the Angora goat can be productive on marginal range lands where many animals could not survive,” Craddock said. “We may discover that Angora goats have a gene that makes them resistant to some as yet unknown disease. If we conserve the genetics, we will have more tools to solve problems with in the future.”

For more information on the Angora germplasm project contact Waldron or Craddock at 325-653-4576.