The breed-wise population for 38 recognized breeds of sheep and 20 breeds of goats was estimated from the records of Indian Livestock Census, 1992. The breed tract for each breed was divided into three parts as central, adjacent and specified pockets. For sheep 50 to 80, 20 to 50 and 5 to 20 per cent and for goats 30 to 60, 15 to 30 and 5 to 15 per cent of total population was allotted for these categories of the breed tract respectively. The estimates for each breed population are presented in a tabular form. Among sheep breeds Deccani population estimates. were maximum (4.55m) followed by Marwari (3.80m). The estimated population was very low for Nilgiri (3,000), Banapala (5,000) and Gurej (11,000) breeds. In goat breeds Bengal estimated the highest (19.44m) followed by Marwari (3.27m) whereas Jhakrana and Beetal estimates were minimum, i.e. 52,000 and 54,000 respectively. The Bonpala and Nigiri sheep are at the verge of extinction and need immediate attention for their conservation.
