Studies on the meat production characteristics of Botswana goats and sheep—Part I: Sampling, methods and materials, and measurements on the live animals

A carcase evaluation exercise was carried out on various groups of smallstock (goats and sheep) which are of importance to the meat industry in Botswana, and which formed part of a larger overall project designed to improve meat production from indigenous smallstock. The main objective was to provide background data on various body and carcase characteristics, from which subsequent selection, breeding and improved management could be evaluated and monitored. The data collected was concerned with: the external dimensions and weights of the live animals; the composition of the slaughtered animals in terms of the weights of offal parts and carcase weight; the dimensions of the carcases and the composition of the carcases in terms of the weights of their component joints; the quantity of muscle and fat on the carcases and the distribution and relative proportions of these tissues throughout the carcases. A total of 145 goats and 112 sheep were used in the investigation. The present paper discusses the sampling of the goats and shep, outlines the methods used and presents data on external linear measurements and liveweights of the animals.