Messinese goat
A billy | |
| Conservation status | FAO (2007): not at risk |
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| Other names |
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| Country of origin | Italy |
| Distribution | Sicily |
| Standard | MIPAAF |
| Use | meat, milk |
| Traits | |
| Weight |
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| Height |
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| Skin colour | dark or pale according to coat colour |
| Coat | very variable |
| Horn status | usually horned |
| Beard | bearded |
| Tassels | present |
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The Messinese is an Italian breed of domestic goat indigenous to the area of the Monti Nebrodi and the Monti Peloritani in the province of Messina, in the Mediterranean island of Sicily in southern Italy. It is raised mainly in those areas, but also in the provinces of Catania, Enna and Palermo. Its range partly overlaps that of the Argentata dell'Etna. The breed was officially recognised and a herd-book established in 2001. It was previously known either as the Capra dei Nebrodi (in that area) or in general as the Siciliana Comune.
The Messinese is one of the forty-three autochthonous Italian goat breeds of limited distribution for which a herd-book is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep- and goat-breeders. At the end of 2013 the registered population was variously reported as 9814 and as 10409; the total population is estimated at 42000.