ABSTRACT

Genetic improvement of ovine breeds has formally been achieved through the cioi t of e.\otic and local (indigenous) sheep to the d sad vantage of the latter ( alaLo aiRl \ crc. 2002). lb is trend is currently being reversed with greater attention being fn on indigenous breeds ( Maijala. 1 993). The West African dwarf sheep arc indigenous to Abia State and have long beet aJt 'ted to extreme harsh environmental conditions of' nutrition, climate and (I isease. and iii Ho be inure productive iii their own environment than exotic breeds. 1 he\ can also he ti ihlc experimental animals in fundamental research and a potential store of unique eiics hich may be usef'u I to the industrialized nations. There is. therefore, a need t o tidy variations among their populations via breed characterisation so a to faci I late Iiei  efficient utilization (Nsoso c't al.. 2003). A pre-requ site to the discovery of' either useRi I ccotvpes or strains is that the hoed II have to he studied, and traits vhi cli make them tiniqile. characterized phetiot i. iv. However. a global strategy involves identify Ring and characterizing unique : ole resource in a particular region and development of proper use of the associated J it (Ngere. 2002). Such traits could be used in value-added marketing and lietnee c 'a  contribute to sustainable titi I ization and accrued benefits from these breeds to ía' ners. Thus, as a crucial starting point, this research work delved into characterization I) dicep in Abia State. According to Epstein (1953), the numbers of African sheep are considerable and a first step in the rational use of such a large collection of animals would be to organize them into smaller manageable groups. This need has been recognized and attempts have been made using easily distinguishable phenotypes of body size and height as well as ear shape and length. Thus; with information from their works and have been built up showing over 48 breeds of sheep and 22 breeds of goat in Africa. Although the classifications were on a phenotypic basis, simplification of the African sheep and goat fauna was achieved and future studies may reveal even more important underlying genetic differences between the breeds.