Shami goats from Saudi Arabia

[Naef hajaya]

 

[Goatherd]

I can understand the body structure, but the head and mouth looks more like a birth defect rather than intentional good breeding. The cropping of the ears also makes no sense to me other than another form of mutilation.

 

[Stacykins]

Those goats are slightly horrifying, in my opinion. Do they have breathing problems?

 

[pdpo222]

http://www.goatworld.com/breeds/shami.shtml here is some info on them. They aren't suppose to look like those pics. They really are a pretty goat, those pics are a horrible representation of the breed.

 

[Alicia G]

Those are quite odd goats I must say. But perhaps that is what is thought to be wonderful. I have seen some types of animals that defects like these are sought after as it is.
http://www.chillhour.com/img/weird/bald_chicken/bald_chicken_3.jpg
These chickens are an example of breeding to look like different. Ugly to some, but nifty to others.

 

[Goatherd]

Additional Notes for the Breeder
* The Shami breeder must be particularly attentive to physical faults in the head that affect the health profile and proper functioning of the animal. For example, a Roman nose so extreme that it restricts the nostrils and impairs proper breathing is actually a deformity. An overly protruding lower jaw that makes nursing or feeding difficult is a definite fault.

This, from the Goatworld article, pretty much sums up what has already been said. No where in the article does it mention the loping off of the ears. That is what I find most disturbing.

 

[DonnaBelle]

I went to the Shami goat website.

The goats in the pictures sent to BYH look NOTHING like the goats on the Shami website.

The ears have been cut off or removed somehow. And their faces are deformed.

Very sad and disturbing.

DonnaBelle

 

[Straw Hat Kikos]

I believe they use them for fighting sometimes. I could be way wrong though. I think I saw that somewhere.

 

[Pearce Pastures]

Didn't know that those pics would be anything out of the ordinary for that breed. All of the ones I have ever seen look like that. The first time I saw them, I thought that someone had to have done something to them to make them look like that, like binding them as they grew or something. The ears thing seems to be kind of like how some people dock tails on and alter ears from what I have read. They do look really strange as they are let alone with their ears cut.

A Damascus goat was labeled as the most beautiful goat not that long ago

Here is the first place winner

http://www.lifeinthefastlane.ca/most-beautiful-goats-competition/offbeat-news

 

[Southern by choice]

Horrid...just horrid!