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The Goats
Cashmere producing goats have traditionally been found in Asian and Middle
Eastern countries including China, Mongolia, Turkey, Russia, Iran, and
Afghanistan. In the 1970’s the Australians realized that their feral goats were
growing cashmere down. Those feral goats, selected for fiber traits, became the
basis of many American herds. The Spanish meat goats common throughout the
American southwest also proved to be an excellent source of cashmere. Careful
and continued selection for fiber traits and the use of the best cashmere
producing bucks available are the keys to herd improvement whatever the origin
of the goats. The quality and quantity of the fiber are more important than an
animal’s pedigree. The industry does not recognize any cashmere goats as being
“purebred,” as all are derived from feral animals originally, and the gene pool
is vast. |
