DOMESTICATED sheep belong to the family Bovidae, genus Ovis and species Aries. Sheep in India as well as in Arabia have originated from their wild ancestor Ovis orientale Vignei. Sheep along with goats were perhaps the first ruminants to be domesticated by man. They appear to have been freshly domesticated in the mountains of Iran, Turkestan and Baluchistan. Reference to their role in the economy of mankind is found in the history of the civilization of Mesopotamia and Mohen-jo-Daro and Harappa in northern India.
Sheep is an important livestock species. In India, they contribute greatly to the agrarian economy, especially in the arid/semi-arid and mountainous areas where crop and/or dairy farming is not economical. They play an important role in the livelihood of a large percentage of small and marginal farmers and landless labourers engaged in sheep rearing. A number of rural-based industries use wool and sheep skins as raw material. Sheep manure is an important source of soil fertility especially in southern states.
Sheep in India are mostly maintained on natural vegetation on common grazing lands, wastelands and uncultivated (fallow) lands, stubbles of cultivated crops and top feeds (tree loppings). Rarely they are kept on grain, cultivated fodder or crop residue.
The sheep are mostly reared for wool and meat. Sheep skins and manure constitute important sources of earning, the latter particularly in southern India. Milk from sheep is of limited importance and that too in very limited areas of Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan and Gujarat. Indian sheep are not regarded as dairy sheep.
The current population of sheep in the world is 1,137-37 million (FAO, 1983). Of this, around 48.23 million (according to the 1982 Census) are in India. The country stands sixth in sheep population in the world.
These sheep produce 132 million kg of mutton, 38.1 million kg of greasy wool and 37.08 million pieces of skin annually (FAO, 1983). Of the total wool produced in the country roughly 10.49 per cent falls in the range of above 56, 22-31 per cent between 44 and 56, 34-0 per cent between 36 and 43, and the rest 33-18 per cent is below 36 in quality. The wools of 54 and above quality are suitable for worsted sector and hosiery, of 36 to 53 quality for good quality carpets and those below 36 only for coarse quality carpets, druggists, felts and rugs.
About 14 million kg of fine wool is imported for the worsted sector for preparing woollen cloth for suitings, hosiery and other apparel, as only 4-0 million kg of Indigenous wool is combed worthy. The country requires 15 million kg of 64-quality wool for the manufacture of fine apparel, 10 million kg of 56-quality for medium-quality apparel and 20 million kg of 36 to 48-quality for carpet manufacture. The availability is thus short by 15 million kg of fine wool and about 7.2 million kg of medium-quality apparel wool. The woollen industry provides employment to about 3 million people and earns more than 2,000 million in foreign exchange by way of exports. State-wise sheep population in 1951 is presented in Table 1. In Rajasthan, the largest sheep-rearing state, the sheep population increased by about 34.71 per cent as against 18.00 per cent in the country during 1977-82.
The productivity of Indian sheep is lower than that of those in agriculturally more advanced countries. Yet considering their nutritional and physical environment their productivity cannot be considered inefficient. The major reasons for low productivity are inadequate grazing resources, diseases causing high mortality, morbidity and consequent reduced production, and a serious lack of organized effort for bringing genetic improvement.