The goat, (Capra hircus) is a mammal that belongs to the even-toed ungulates, and, further specified, to the Bovidae. The word ‘goat’ comes from Germanic ‘geitaz’ and is probably kindred to Latin ‘hædus’, meaning ‘young goat’.

The animal was first domesticated millennia ago and has played an important role within animal husbandry for a long time. In addition to the domesticated goat, there is also the wild goat, where the domesticated goat descends from. As a prototype of the domestic goat, the bezoar goat (Capra aegagrus) was probably already domesticated in southwest Asia by approximately 7000 BC. One of the few domesticated breeds lives here, namely the Circassian goat, which cannot be traced back to the bazoar goat, but to the Markhor (Capra falconeri). This appears to be an ancient breed, which was kept from Mesopotamia to Egypt.

The goat has been introduced as a domesticated animal in every part of the world, except in the polar areas. There are supposed to be about 450 million goats worldwide, divided over two hundred breeds. In their original, dry natural habitats, they were mainly kept for their meat and skins. It was later, in Europe, that it was discovered that the goat in able to produce great quantities of milk. For people allergic to cow’s milk, goat’s milk is usually a good replacement. The milk contains about the same amount of fat and protein as cow’s milk. Goat’s milk is more easily digestible. On average, a goat gives three litres of milk a day. Only a limited number of breeds are kept for their wool. The most well-known one is the Angora goat. (Source:  Wikipedia)