British Primitive goat
It is hardy and wiry haired, adapted to rough terrain and weather, and able to subsist and breed on its own without human intervention.
A small, all-weather animal, it provided these subsistence pastoralists some milk, and was invaluable for its meat, skin, hair and tallow.
[4][5] It survived through the Bronze and Iron Ages, as it was hardy and self-sufficient in foraging in a rough, nutritionally poor environment, required little intervention from humans, and was good at evading predators.
[5] The native goat became less and less popular as agricultural practices shifted, because of their small size, coarse hair, and large horns.
[1] Due to both displacement by non-indigenous goats and conversion of hilltop grazing land into softwood plantations, these feral herds have long been in decline.
The independent British Feral Goat Research Group estimates that because of introgression (repeated cross-breeding) with modern breeds of foreign stock, perhaps only 1,500 non-mixed British primitive goats remain in Great Britain, making it a rare breed.
[1] The group has called for "urgent action ... to protect, preserve and promote what is rapidly becoming a remnant"[1] of what was once the dominant variety of goat in the region.
[7] Despite some conservationist concerns with regard to uncontrolled goat grazing, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds itself maintains a small herd of the goats at Inversnaid, Scotland, and at least three other nature reserves, at Mull of Kintyre, Colonsay, and Grey Mare's Tail have herds as well.
[2] It has come into some conflict with both wildlife conservationists and local farmers, and as of 2011[update] became the subject of a GPS radio-collar tracking programme, to identify the exact extent of its moorland range and foraging behavior, for future management efforts.
"This poses a real threat to this small, genetically unique population", according to Richard Bevan, co-director of the project.
[8] Having arrived in the Mesolithic period, the breed adapted to landscape as a cold-weather goat and became an integral part of Ireland's living heritage.
The Old Irish landrace goat is present in the Burren mountains, although fewer than 10% of the remaining feral herd (an estimated 250) is believed to be purebred, due to crossbreeding with Anglo-Nubian and Swiss imports.
It is an event lasting two days, in which (among other festivities) people capture a feral goat and put it on a stand in the town square, calling the animal as "King Puck", the honorary master of ceremonies.
The goat normally has a long body and a neck that is frequently thick and short, a rounded belly and loins that are broad and deep.
A British primitive's head tapers towards a fine muzzle, and contains a prominent frontal bone with a broad forehead.
[3] Aside from feral populations cross-breeding on their own with imported goat breeds (see above), British primitives have been used in selective, intentional crossbreeding of livestock by humans.
[6] On farms it is very common to use artifice, such as artificial insemination, to obtain a herd with the fewest physiologically deficient individuals.
With this artificial selection it is possible to obtain a more disease-resistant and size bearing offspring that makes the commercialization of goat derivatives viable.
