Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA) of Punjab-Pakistan are comprised of hilly mountains with small ruminants as the sole source of income. In this study, farming practices, their productivity, health and the economic value of sheep were evaluated in PATA through a survey of farmers (n = 138) holding 11,558 heads of sheep. Out of a total population, 87% were non-descriptive flocks, and nine percent and four percent were purebred flocks belonging to the Kajli and Thali populations, respectively. Sheep flocks were mainly (86%) reared under the traditional production system and had a delayed onset of puberty. There was low influence of season on the reproduction, and the majority of flocks (78%) were bred throughout the year. The lack of proper vaccination and poor management exposed the flocks to bacterial, viral and parasitic infections, which lead to high mortality in lambs (~22%) and adults (~32%). The share of sheep in farmers livelihood was 42%, and only 20% of producers’ living standard was improved with sheep farming, but the rise in rearing more sheep was quite low (20%). Although the livestock department arranged farmers’ training, the majority of farmers (83%) never participated in training and had no knowledge of modern technologies. Collectively, the traditional sheep production systems, poor management, lack of vaccination, marketing channels and farmers training hampered the sheep rearing and producers’ livelihood in the PATA of Punjab-Pakistan. However, developing model livestock farms, conducting farmer training, establishing a viable market for dairy products, and introducing subsidy policy interventions can improve the sheep farming in these areas.
Goats are generally called a “poor man's cow” because they not only provide meat and milk but also other assistance to their owners, including skins for leather production and their waste, which can be used as compost for fertilizer. Multiple ovulation and embryo transfer (MOET) is an important process in embryo biotechnology, as it increases the contribution of superior female goats to breeding operations. The field of assisted reproductive biotechnologies has seen notable progress. However, unlike in cattle, the standard use of superovulation and other reproductive biotechnologies has not been widely implemented for goats. Multiple intrinsic and extrinsic factors can alter the superovulatory response, significantly restricting the practicability of MOET technology. The use of techniques to induce superovulation is a crucial step in embryo transfer (ET), as it accelerates the propagation of animals with superior genetics for desirable traits. Furthermore, the conventional superovulation techniques based on numerous injections are not appropriate for animals and are labor-intensive as well as expensive. Different approaches and alternatives have been applied to obtain the maximum ovarian response, including immunization against inhibin and the day-0 protocol for the synchronization of the first follicular wave. While there are several studies available in the literature on superovulation in cattle, research on simplified superovulation in goats is limited; only a few studies have been conducted on this topic. This review describes the various treatments with gonadotropin that are used for inducing superovulation in various dairy goat breeds worldwide. The outcomes of these treatments, in terms of ovulation rate and recovery of transferrable embryos, are also discussed. Furthermore, this review also covers the recovery of oocytes through repeated superovulation from the same female goat that is used for somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT).
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