How did goats come to North America?

Answer 1

Answer

The history of goats in North America began with the arrival of Spanish explorers and settlers in the 1500s. English settlers brought a few goats to New England beginning in the 1600s. These two types accounted for most of the goats found in North America until the time of the Civil War. These goats had little market value and were never recognized as distinct breeds.

In the mid-1800s, goat production in the United States began to change. The importation of several goat breeds from Europe increased the breadth of genetic resources available. Angora goats were imported to the United States beginning in the 1850s, and Texas became the center of mohair production. Importation of improved European dairy breeds, including the Toggenburg, Saanen, French Alpine, and Nubian, began about 1900. Diary production from these breeds far exceeded that of the Spanish and English goats, and these historic types were rapidly crossbred or replaced. The Old English goat became extinct in North America, and it was only in the southeastern and southwestern United States that pure Spanish goats survived.

Recently imported cashmere goats have been crossed with Spanish goats to increase the production of fiber. Boer goats from south Africa have been imported and crossed with Spanish, Tennessee Fainting, and other breeds to improve meat production. The resulting offspring demonstrate the commercial and biological value of hybrid vigor from the use of two unrelated breeds. At the same time, crossbreeding poses a threat to the survival of Spanish and Tennessee goat breeds, both of which are unique to the United States.