| Maltese | |
| Image Alt: | Maltese goat grazing in Delimara, Malta. |
| Status: | International Transboundary Breed (2024): at risk[1] |
| Nickname: | Mogħża Maltija |
| Country: | Middle East[2] |
| Use: | Milk |
| Skincolour: | pinkish white or orange-red |
| Woolcolour: | white, grey, black, chestnut- red, brown or greyish white |
| Horns: | most are naturally polled (hornless) |
| Beard: | usually no beard |
| Tassels: | usually present |
| Note: | usually long straight hair but may also be short |
The Maltese is a comparatively small sized rare breed of dairy goat known for its high milk production, high prolifacy and a resistance and adaptation to heat stress.[3]
This renowned dairy breed probably originated from the East and Central Mediterranean region, stretching to Asia Minor and the Middle East. As its name suggests, this breed takes its name from the island of Malta.[4]
Goats of the Maltese breed have been known in the Maltese islands for hundreds of years; with documented references published as early as the 19th century.
In 1886, the Maltese goat was already being showcased in the United Kingdom during a reunion for the colonial exposure of London.[5]
In the early 20th century, the role of goats' milk in the transmission of Brucella melitensis in the Crown Colony of Malta became well known, and Maltese goats in particular were targeted. Stringent measures were adopted to identify and destroy all infected goats. Maltese goats which were positive for both milk and blood agglutination tests were destroyed.
In 1906, Maltese goatherds went on strike to prevent the authorities from sampling the milk for presence of the infective bacterium to avoid culling their goats. In some villages, 19% of all goats tested positive. In the same year a campaign was also launched against the use of raw goats' milk which lasted till 1916. By 1936 the consumption of un-boiled milk in shops had been prevented and by 1939 goatherds were also prohibited from selling fresh milk from door to door and from herding Maltese goats through the streets of Valletta and most towns.
In 1939, the Maltese goat population on the Maltese islands was estimated between 40,000 and 100,000 but numbers declined drastically by the end of World War II.[6] During these years of hardship, Maltese goats were forcefully slaughtered for consumption following severe food shortages.[7]
In 1956, an eradication program was launched to gradually replace goats' milk with cows' milk by exchanging goats for cows. The exchange was 11 goats for 1 imported dairy cow. This policy was later suspended in 1959.[8]
All these factors led to constant and rapid decline of the Maltese goat population in the Maltese islands.
The coat is usually long with straight hair but can also be short. Coat colour can be white, grey, black, light brown and reddish brown; and can be either plain, patchy, belted or with distinctive colour pattern distribution along the head and neck area. They are usually naturally polled, have a straight profile with ears ranging from horizontal or semi-pendulous to long lop with curled tips.[9]
Considered an International Transboundary Breed, several sub-types of Maltese goats have emerged and tend to vary in different countries, namely:
The Maltese is a valued milk breed. The milk has pleasant taste without an excessively "goaty" odour or flavour.
In Malta, the most common practice nowadays is to use milk for the production of a variety of traditional cheeselets known locally as ġbejniet, irkotta and other goat cheeses.[12]
In Sicily, milk is used to make ricotta and traditional caprino cheeses including Padduni, which has PAT status.[13]
In Malta, the Maltese is the only indigenous goat breed. By 2024, the overall goat population in the Maltese islands has drastically fallen below 6,000 head with the population of the Maltese indigenous sub-type estimated to be less than 1,000 head as reported by Darryl Grech, Founder of Breeds of Origin Conservancy.[14] Additionally, the remaining Maltese goat population has been severely impacted by years of cross-breeding with other imported commercial breeds.[15]
In Italy, the Maltese is one of the eight autochthonous Italian goat breeds for which a genealogical herdbook is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep and goat breeders. The herdbook was established in 1976. The Italian population of the Maltese breed was estimated in 1983 to be about 70,000, and in 2005 at 40,000. At the end of 2013 the registered population reported was 1,934.[16]
In 2023, a non-profit organisation named Breeds of Origin Conservancy collaborated with a Maltese farm in Delimara known as Tulliera Farm Deli and imported 60 Maltese goats from Sicily in order to strengthen the genetic pool of the endangered indigenous Maltese goat population in Malta.[17]
In August 2024, Darryl Grech, Founder of Breeds of Origin Conservancy and President of the Maltese Goat and Sheep Co-operative Society, through a letter addressed to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights, officially requested that the indigenous goat of the Maltese islands should be classified as a critically endangered 'Traditional Population' and the breed recognized as 'Local' and 'At-Risk'. This was done in an effort to safeguard the declining indigenous population.[18]