Goats and climate resilience

Abstract

Climate change poses a major global concern and is therefore an ongoing topic. World’s population is expected to reach 9.7 billion people by 2050 and 10.4 billion by 2100, which means that the food resources will become crucial. In that respect, animal protein is considered a vital nutrient for growing human population. However, in the light of ever-changing climate events food and water sources for both animals and humans can become scarce in certain areas. The impacts of higher temperatures, changes in precipitation and extreme weather events pose the most risk on agricultural systems such as livestock. Direct and indirect influence of heat and drought caused by global warming is harmful to livestock. Small ruminants and particularly goats are considered more resilient and better adapted to hot and dry environments compared to other livestock. These animals require less in terms of feed, water and labor than large ruminants and are also more thermo-tolerant. They have certain physiological, behavioral and anatomical advantages aiding their survival during heat and drought. Goats are less of a competition to humans in terms of available food as they can thrive on plants unusable for human nutrition. The review discusses advantages of goats as species in terms of adaptation to changing climate.