The Use of Wild and Domestic Animals and the Development of New Genotypes

Abstract

The world is faced with a critical shortage of animal protein. Wild animal species can help solve this problem in four ways: (1) Domestication or semi-domestication of various wild ungulates could assure more efficient conversion of forage into meat. (2) The harvesting of wild animals, both by sport hunting and through game ranching, could produce more meat and other animal products than could comparable numbers of domestic livestock on many land areas. (3) Wild animals alone or combined with domestic animals can make optimum use of many ranges. (4) And, advantages to be gained by developing new genotypes through wild-domestic crosses are discussed in terms of problems involved, anticipated benefits, and objectives. The approach and the techniques or methods presently being undertaken at Utah State University to accomplish these objectives also are briefly described. Based on the impetus provided by Norman Borlaug, the “Green Revolution” may meet the cereal demands of the world's human population for several decades to come. However, a serious protein deficiency still exists, and the gap between good quality or animal protein production and human consumptive needs is steadily widening.