@conference{
author = "Vlahek, Ivan and Maksimović, Nevena and Piplica, Aneta and Maurić Maljković, Maja and Delić, Nikola and Lazarević, Marina and Sušić, Velimir",
year = "2023-10",
abstract = "This paper aims to examine the state of goat production and the
population trends of goats in Croatia and Serbia from 2012 to 2021. Goat keeping
in both countries suffered immensely in the second half of the 20th century as a
result of the infamous Law on Prohibition of goat keeping, which was unique of its
kind and which led to the almost complete annihilation of the goat sector in
countries which were at the time part of Yugoslavia. With the abolition of this law,
both countries have made an effort to revive goat production by importing highproducing
breeds, crossbreeding domestic breeds, herd book keeping and
government funding. In the past ten years, Serbia has experienced a significant rise
in the number of herd book goats and a decline in the total number of heads of
goats. The Republic of Croatia had a positive trend in the total number of goats
which increased by about 10.6%, and a higher percentage of herd book goats
compared to the total number of goats compared to Serbia. However, Serbia has
about 2.7 times bigger total goat population. Total production of goat milk and
meat in both countries is considered low when seen from the perspective of
Europe, as only 1.3% and 0.5% of European goats are raised in Serbia and Croatia,
respectively. In Serbia, production systems are still predominantly extensive to
semi-intensive, and therefore production potential of animals is not exploited to the
maximum. Also, Serbia has weak and unstable markets for goat milk and meat,
making this production unpredictable and varying. Even though the goat sector has
come a long way since its downfall in 1954, it still has a long way to go to become
sustainable. On the other hand, in Croatia, goat milk has been a sought-after
product in recent years, and farmers have achieved fair prices, establishing the goat
dairy industry. After Croatia joined the European Union, goat farmers gained
access to several significant sources of financing, making it the most important
event for the goat sector in Croatia.",
publisher = "Institute for animal husbandry",
journal = "14th International Symposium Modern Trends in Livestock Production",
title = "Population trends of goats in Serbia and Croatia from 2012 to 2021",
pages = "493-507",
url = "https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_ristocar_909"
}