Safeguarding Genetic Diversity |
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New World ArrivalIn the 16th century the Spanish came to the Americas, bringing goats. Still, we should not be deceived by the simplicity of the goats brought to the Americas. They originated in the days of natural sustainable agriculture, and represented genetic lines that could stand up to the simple care and knowledge of the 1500’s. This guaranteed that only the hardiest goats survived to breed. Spanish goats in the Americas are now some of the few goats that still reflect the ancient, efficient Spanish genes—it has become increasingly difficult to find such goats, even in Spain. The Spanish colonized the Americas from both sides. They left a goat trail. Some goats were brought from Spain to the Caribbean, through Florida, and onto Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. In the west, the goat trail runs from Mexico to California and Texas. So we have a mix of origins and possibly a little interbreeding in the middle. Remember that goats never received much documented attention, so the history is hard to verify, but Spanish goats in this country show their DNA to be of Iberian origin. For the next couple of centuries the goats were used for milk, meat, hair, and hides. The goats survived well with minimal management, and those that became feral survived with no human management at all. They adapted well to their regions, and natural selection produced a breed of goat that was an exceptionally well-adapted survivor. Goats were some of the last animals to captivate the interest of large-scale livestock breeders and commercial markets. Cows and sheep had all of the attention, and next to that were pigs and chickens. The Spanish goats thus escaped the intensive and industrialized livestock management practices that became so popular in the 19th and 20th century. More Goats on BoatsMeanwhile, in Spain, dairy goats were all the rage. There were many to choose from, and the ordinary Spanish goat was being upgraded to a ‘good milker’ with all of the many European varieties available. These northern European goats weren’t just strains, they were full-fledged breeds with well-documented sires, dams, and guaranteed results. The Spanish goats in the U.S. began to lose their Old Country cousins in Spain and Europe. In the 1900’s the Angora goat industry arrived in the United States. Angora goats from Turkish stock were imported for angora, and by the 1920’s Texas was flooded with them. It took a few more years for the various European dairy breeds to gain a strong foothold in the United States, but they started to establish themselves in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Some Spanish goats may have been used as a subject of dairy upgrades, but Spanish goats have always done well with smaller udders that don’t get caught on the brush, so would not be a target for dairymen. The SouthwestSince the 1800’s, Texas ranchers have raised thousands of sheep that covered thousands of acres. Spanish goats helped the ranchers by clearing brush. Included in this menu was Bitterweed, a pretty little annual with yellow flowers that grows throughout the southwest. It is highly toxic to sheep and cattle, and will kill them. But the Spanish goats could eat it and keep it under control. Ranchers raised sheep for wool, and so naturally when Angora goats arrived in the U.S. in the late 1800’s, southwest sheep ranchers saw them as an excellent compliment to their wool flocks. On the big Texas ranches, goats required less hands-on care, had more young, and the market for mohair was strong. The Angora goats ate different forage than the sheep, so they could co-exist nicely with the sheep. Many Spanish goats lost their jobs to Angora goats and some were crossbred to them and others were eaten by the ranchers and the ranch hands. “When the shearers came, they would camp out on the ranch. Most were Mexican, and were very happy to eat goat meat. The ranchers ate it, too. That’s what the Spanish goats were for. You needed a small animal, because in many counties there was no electricity until the 1950’s. Because there was no refrigeration, you needed something that you could eat before the meat went bad. Lambs were more expensive than goats. Angora goats were more expensive than Spanish goats, because you could sell Angoras for meat and hair. Spanish goats were just for meat, so those were the ones for eating. And the Spanish goats could just take care of themselves. . .” Then came the demise of the mohair industry beginning in the mid 1960’s. But by then the goat market was already beginning to shift. Changes in transportation were affecting everything, and meat goats could be shipped more easily across the United States. The demand for goat meat hadn’t increased suddenly, it was the ability for Southwestern ranchers to meet that demand that had increased. And there were a whole lot of goat ranchers that needed to look in new directions as Angora goats lost their glory. The Spanish goats came into their own. In 1990, in Texas alone there were 280,000 purebred Spanish goats. They had become America’s meat goat. “Transportation did change the industry. In the 1930’s, goats used to be put on the railroad out of Kerrville. I can remember in 1941–’42 when trucks would drive by going to Fort Worth; big trucks with double-decks filled with goats and sheep. Shipping meat by refrigerated trucks was a lot more expensive.” The SoutheastMeanwhile in the Southeast. . . Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida had their own lines of Spanish goats. Most people in that area had heard the stories of how the goats had Spanish origins, but you could say that about most any of the area’s livestock. The goats weren’t called “Spanish” in the southeast: like Florida Cracker horses, Pineywoods cattle, and Gulf Coast sheep, they had become a part of the local heritage, were accepted as virtually indigenous, and named accordingly. Also, there was no pressing need to differentiate them from any other goat—Spanish goats were the only goats around. They were named after where they lived and what they did best: ‘brush goats,’ ‘woods goats,’ ‘briar goats,’ ‘scrub goats,’ and as you moved northwards they became ‘hills goats’ and ‘Virginia hill goats.’ They were not pedigreed, bred up, or used for meat on a large scale; they were used to clear the fast-growing brush. Meat was just a by-product. They retained their hardy heritage genes, but people forgot that they were a true breed in their own right. As in the southwest, the rising meat goat market brought new interest to the Spanish goats in the southeast. They weren’t just for brush anymore. Bring in the BoersIn the 1970’s, livestock breeders were all busy doing their own thing. The ones that were in the business of beef, chicken, etc. were there because they had already learned the business, bought all the accessories, and had not failed. They weren’t about to switch horses (or cattle) midstream. The real people involved in the meat goat industry were the Old Breeders and a few New Guys. Our heritage comes to light in many forms, including in language, and in goats. You could tell the New Guys apart: they were usually the ones using the more northern, “progressive” terms of ‘bucks’ and ‘does’ instead of ‘billies’ and ‘nannies.’ With a strong nationwide demand for goat meat, and that demand now being profitably fulfilled, the growing industry attracted a bit of attention. In fact, meat goats were getting global attention. It was finally time for the Meat Goat Imports, which meant Boer goats. The Spanish goats now had some real competition. In the 1980’s Boers swept the western hemisphere, and waited in quarantine to enter the United States. Lancorp (the Boer Guys) had already positioned themselves to skim the western market, and the U.S. market was ready for them. Boer goats came into the U.S. in the early 1990’s, first as $1,000 embryos, then as $20,000 (or more) bucks. Surrogate mothers and new brides would naturally be Spanish meat goats, who were the only other meat goats around. Herds of Spanish goats were turned into herds of fast-growing Spanish/Boer crossbreeds. "Everyone was so excited about Boers. When Boer bucks first showed up at the fair, everyone wanted to breed them, even the dairy goat people. They'd wait until evening, then sneak out back behind the barn, and breed their nanny to a Boer. The Boer owners were charging $250–$600 cash for those breedings." The New Guys started with Boers, and the trend continued as the hefty Boer kids set the new and higher standard for expected market weights. Soon everyone joined the Boer game. Well, almost everyone. What's In a Name?Spanish goats, brush goats, woods goats, briar goats, scrub goats—none had registration papers, none had national sires to boast about, and the names became synonymous with “no particular breed.” That’s where the problem arose. And it’s still a problem today, as people who are interested in conservation overlook the old brush-clearing goat in the back forty with no idea that it is a Spanish goat waiting to be bred, perhaps the last of a bloodline. Many use the term ‘Spanish goat’ to innocently describe goats with Spanish bloodlines in them, and others are a bit confused about whether this means a purebred goat of Spanish origin or a mixed-breed goat used for brush. We Almost Lost ThemNot everyone crossbred their Spanish goats. Some breeders had worked for years to improve their Spanish herds, and were deservingly pleased with the results. Some just preferred the hardiness and adaptability of Spanish goats, others knew from experience that oftentimes crossbreeds lose their appeal over time for many reasons. The Old Breeders are still around, and you can read their fascinating stories on the Bloodlines page. However, until recently these breeders were a bit tricky to find unless you knew where to look. Most of them don’t have internet access, and word-of-mouth works for many, but not for the New Guys on the block. “People started to crossbreed Spanish goats with Boer goats. People would pay thousands of dollars for a Boer. All of a sudden, everyone wanted them. They put on meat fast. But they just couldn’t take care of themselves. A Boer goat will sit around near the house waiting to be fed. A Spanish goat will be off climbing a tree somewhere just to get a leaf. Now people are trying to get more Spanish into their goats. “I wanted to get more Spanish into my herd, but didn’t know how to find them. They used to be everywhere, but now you can’t find them anywhere.” 20072007 marked the beginning of the Spanish Goat Association™. The challenge at the time was to find the remaining purebred Spanish goats in the United States, ensure that their breeders are aware that the goats have become a conservation priority, and aid in the preservation of this breed in any way possible. Although we estimate a population of about 8,000 Spanish goats, many are in large herds of over 1,000. There were, in 2007, only a few breeders. The "older" breeders have shown years of dedication to conserving the breed, and the new breeders are helping to ensure a promising and secure future for the breed as a whole. But we're still in the balance, and we need to keep expanding with hardiness at heart. Safeguarding the Genetic Diversity & Promoting the Spanish Goat BreedBy 2016, it became apparent that the previous nine years' work of preservation of the Spanish goat as a breed was not achieving its goals. A plan of proactive promotion was executed by creating a Spanish Goat Association™ Facebook page. As breeders posted photos of “Spanish” goats and made claims of “Spanish” characteristics, it was clear that more had to be done to preserve the breed while also supporting the commercial meat goat industry. Unfortunately, there was not one clear answer to the question and this dilemma caused a split within the breeders – those who just wanted to breed and sell goats for profit and those that wanted to safeguard the genetics. It is unfortunate that this has become the reality of the breed. Now buyers must be very careful about the genetics they purchase if they want fullblood Spanish genetics. We all know a piece of paper – even one Backed by DNA Sampling – is not meaningful in and of itself. How can the Spanish Goat Association™ benefit the breeders while safeguarding the breed? Unfortunately, relying on the integrity of breeders to purchase goats from certified sources who can be trusted to only breed from certified sources has been proven a fool's game! Most breeders are busy and want easy solutions. A group of Certified breeders have come together to make the financial and leadership commitment to ensure these efforts move forward with integrity while serving the breeders without sacrificing what is best for the breed. Unfortunately, this means that the Spanish Goat Association™ is not an association in the traditional sense where breeders are voted onto a board and the board majority makes the decisions for the association. However, the Spanish Goat Association™ and the Spanish Goat Registry™ are run by volunteers and all monies collected are being used to promote and sustain both endeavors. Closed DNA Herd BookThe data analytics of the DNA Sampling of the Spanish goat breeders showed wide variances between the genetics over time within the same herd and bloodlines. This should not be the case. The genetics should line up in clusters by bloodlines/herds/breeders. Unfortunately this was not the case. The information was clear – some breeders were bringing in outside genetics into their herds and this was scattering the genetic data. Something had to be done to safeguard the genetics. The only real solution was to create a DNA based pedigree system for the breed. This means that the dam and sire DNA must be on file in order to parent verify the sample. This is the only way to ensure the genetics are being safeguarded in a way that can be analysed and verified. No more trust, no more promises, just hard cold data. 2026It is 2026 and 19 years have passed since the conservation effort of the pure Spanish goat launched. Basically, we have commercial breeders and seedstock breeders. Seed Stock breeders DNA Register and parent verify, cull and selectively breed to improve their herds. Commercial breeders may have a few goats that are DNA registered, but basically they are breeding goats to sell goats. Typically, their end goal is more about profit than improving or conserving the breed. In order to be on the Spanish Goat Association™ and Spanish Goat Registry™ website Breeder Lists, a breeder must be Certified. Certification requires the DNA Registration through the Spanish Goat Registry™ of five females and one male. Any goat that is DNA Registered through the Spanish Goat Registry™ is required to have been bred by a Certified breeder. As of October 4, 2026, the dam and sire must be on file to receive a DNA Registration Certificate. Unless a goat has a Spanish Goat Registry™ Registration certificate we cannot assure the buyer that the goat is fullblood Spanish. Females steal other’s offspring and billy kids can breed as early as 10 weeks. The seller may only have Spanish goats, and can say they have no neighbors with goats, but they cannot guarantee the dam and or sire of the goat. This is not important for commercial and hobby breeders, but it is essential for seed stock producers. Platinum Certified Breeders own DNA Registered goats whose dam and sire have been parent verified.The Platinum Certified breeder is the conservationist of the breed because they are making the commitment – doing the work and paying the fees to test and register their stock. These are the Seed Stock Producers of the Spanish Goat Breed. The Spanish Goat Registry™ is in partnership with the Platinum Breeder to Preserve and Promote the breed. It is the Platinum Certified breeders who are invited to consign the Spanish Goat Seed Stock Live Auctions. The effort to safeguard the genetics and the growing demand for Spanish goats as well as the growing profit in selling them has made it all the more important to be sure of what you are buying and who you are buying it from. Most breeders are busy and want easy solutions. A group of Certified breeders have come together to make the financial and leadership commitment to ensure these efforts move forward with integrity while serving the breeders without sacrificing what is best for the breed. We appreciate everyone who has participated in this effort along the way. Special thanks to those that have contributed to the information on this page:
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