The population of indigenous goats has dropped to under 1,000, prompting rearers to urge the government to recognise the breed as critically endangered.

In a letter to Animal Rights Minister Anton Refalo, the Breeds of Origin Conservancy and Koperattiva Maltija tal-Mogħoż u n-Nagħaġ called for official recognition of the local indigenous goat as "a critically endangered traditional population and local breed that is at risk".

Ġiuzeppi Farrugia and his goat at the Siġġiewi Square on December 6 of 1945. Photo from Josef Farrugia's private collection that has been passed on to the National Archives of Malta

Darryl Grech, on behalf of the voluntary organisation and the cooperative said the local breed would classify as such in line with guidelines issued by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization.

In a statement, Grech said that despite its cultural and historical contribution to the Maltese islands, the goat unjustly remained without the recognition it deserved.

Grech notes that the population of the breed dropped at "an alarming rate" over the past five decades. 

There were now under 1,000 indigenous goats in Malta.

The population of the indigenous goat is under threat. Photo: Breeds of Origin Conservancy

"This indigenous population should be valued and maintained for the benefit of biodiversity.

"Considering the growing consensus on the need to safeguard native breeds, this is an attempt to retrieve, analyse and combine information to characterise the remaining indigenous goats of the Maltese islands, identify the current status and size of the population, and develop comprehensive criteria that may serve as a basis for future breeding and selection programs."

Goat rearer. Photo from the private collection of the Soċjetà Agrarja that has been passed on to the National Archives of Malta.