Black Bengal
Encyclopedia
Black Bengal goat or Bengal Black goat is the common name for a small breed of goat
found in Bangladesh
and northeastern India
(Assam
and West Bengal
). In Bangladesh, they are known simply as "BBGs."
The predominant coat colour encountered is black, though goats with brown, gray and white coats are also found. The goat hair is short, soft and lustrous. The back is straight, legs are short, and the ears are 11–14 cm in size and pointed forward. Both sexes have horns (5.8-11.5 cm), directed upward or sometimes backward. Beards are often observed in both sexes. The average height of an adult is 50 cm. Adult bucks weigh 16–18 kg and does weigh 12–14 kg.
Economically and culturally, the goat has played an important role in traditional Bengal
i society. Goat skins
were exported to the world market on a large scale in the 18th and 19th centuries. The goat is important for its adaptability, fertility, high productivity, and skin softness. The goats' skin is of superior quality for leather goods, and is in great demand both in domestic and foreign markets. The goat's meat
is famous in the area for its tenderness, flavour, and leanness.
The breed is early-maturing, with the first litter occurring at about 12 months. Kiding occurs twice a year or thrice in two years. They have the potential for better fertility and litter size than other similar breeds of goat. In Bangladesh, most goats are kept by women and children; consequently, the production cost is minimal. They are efficient users of grasses, shrubs and various tree leaves which have little alternative use, and can be reared easily with little or no supplement feed. Improved management, using a holistic approach that includes supplemental feed, can yield increased economic returns, however.
In addition, social and economic changes are decreasing the amount of open land for grazing. For these reasons, various nongovernmental and international organizations, including the IAEA, are supporting development programs involving farming of the Black Bengal goat, viewing it as a way to help alleviate poverty. In West Bengal India, two more strains of the Bengal goat have recently been identified by Dr. Sandip Banerjee; they have been named as the Dimpy Bengal, which has the typical Toggenberg pattern and breed true, while the other has been named as Dinglu Bengal, which is white in color and has a star over the forehead and a black tuft of hair over the spinous processes; the strains/breeds are prolific in nature and are quite distinct in themselves.http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/News/2007/bengalgoats.html.
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
found in Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
and northeastern India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
(Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
and West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
). In Bangladesh, they are known simply as "BBGs."
The predominant coat colour encountered is black, though goats with brown, gray and white coats are also found. The goat hair is short, soft and lustrous. The back is straight, legs are short, and the ears are 11–14 cm in size and pointed forward. Both sexes have horns (5.8-11.5 cm), directed upward or sometimes backward. Beards are often observed in both sexes. The average height of an adult is 50 cm. Adult bucks weigh 16–18 kg and does weigh 12–14 kg.
Economically and culturally, the goat has played an important role in traditional Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
i society. Goat skins
Goatskin (material)
Goatskin is the skin of a goat.Non tanned goatskin is used for parchment or for drumheads or sounding boards of some musical instruments, e.g., mišnice in medieval Europe, bodhrán in Ireland, esraj in India and for instrumental drum skin named bedug in Indonesia.Tanned leather from goatskin is...
were exported to the world market on a large scale in the 18th and 19th centuries. The goat is important for its adaptability, fertility, high productivity, and skin softness. The goats' skin is of superior quality for leather goods, and is in great demand both in domestic and foreign markets. The goat's meat
Goat meat
Goat meat is the meat of the domestic goat . It is often called chevon or mutton when the meat comes from adults, and cabrito or kid when from young animals...
is famous in the area for its tenderness, flavour, and leanness.
The breed is early-maturing, with the first litter occurring at about 12 months. Kiding occurs twice a year or thrice in two years. They have the potential for better fertility and litter size than other similar breeds of goat. In Bangladesh, most goats are kept by women and children; consequently, the production cost is minimal. They are efficient users of grasses, shrubs and various tree leaves which have little alternative use, and can be reared easily with little or no supplement feed. Improved management, using a holistic approach that includes supplemental feed, can yield increased economic returns, however.
In addition, social and economic changes are decreasing the amount of open land for grazing. For these reasons, various nongovernmental and international organizations, including the IAEA, are supporting development programs involving farming of the Black Bengal goat, viewing it as a way to help alleviate poverty. In West Bengal India, two more strains of the Bengal goat have recently been identified by Dr. Sandip Banerjee; they have been named as the Dimpy Bengal, which has the typical Toggenberg pattern and breed true, while the other has been named as Dinglu Bengal, which is white in color and has a star over the forehead and a black tuft of hair over the spinous processes; the strains/breeds are prolific in nature and are quite distinct in themselves.http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/News/2007/bengalgoats.html.