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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Monitoring crossbreeding trends in native Tunisian sheep breeds
Small Ruminant Research, Volume 74, No. 1-3, Year 2008
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Description
Important urban market changes have been noticed in Tunisia for animals that produce thin tail carcasses in contrast to carcasses of animals with a fat tail. In response to this trend, farmers are crossing the local Barbarin (a fat-tailed breed) with thin tailed breeds (Algerian Ouled Djellel and Black Thibar). This happens while the fat tail is known as a criterion of adaptation to harsh conditions and fat-tailed animals are preferred for religious practices. The objectives of this study were to identify hidden reasons for these changes and assess the degree of crossbreeding between the Barbarin sheep and thin tailed breeds. A total of 912 surveys were conducted in three major sheep regions covering the capital (Tunis) and five departments, and including 601 sheep owners, 158 butchers and 153 consumers. The main results showed that even though raising sheep is still as an activity by itself, fattening activities (breeding-fattening or only fattening) are becoming more and more dominant and they represented 75%, 53% and 65% of the sheep activities in the capital Tunis, South East and North West regions, respectively. While breeders and consumers still prefer, in their majority (55-75%), the Barbarin fat tail lambs, butchers tend to favor thin tailed sheep because of the difficulty of selling the fat of the tail that represents up to 15% of the carcass weight. To meet the butchers' demand, farmers are shifting to thin tail breeds and crosses and in the studied areas, market changes towards thin tailed breeds were dictated by butchers' and not consumers' preference. Sensory tests revealed little difference among the three studied genotypes but showed a superiority of the fat tail lambs in tenderness, flavour and smell. © 2007.
Authors & Co-Authors
Bedhiaf-Romdhani, Sonia
Tunisia, Ariana
Laboratoire Des Productions Animales et Fourragères
Djemali, M'Naouer N.
Tunisia
Laboratoire Des Ressources Animales et Alimentaires
Zaklouta, M.
Lebanon, Beirut
International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas Syria
Iñiguez, Luis C.
Lebanon, Beirut
International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas Syria
Statistics
Citations: 28
Authors: 4
Affiliations: 3
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1016/j.smallrumres.2007.07.008
ISSN:
09214488
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study
Study Locations
Tunisia