7. Current State and Future Perspectives for the Local Stara Zagora Sheep

There is a lack of contemporary information on the evolution of the Local Stara Zagora Sheep. The Local Stara Zagora Sheep Breeding Association has collected information through the monitoring, control and analysis of the productive characteristics in the selected flocks over the last years.
The aim of this study was to analyse the accumulated information and to figure out the breeding perspectives of the breed. For this purpose, the control data of the productive performance of the pure Local Stara Zagora sheep collected by the selectionists of the Association have been used. The fertility and milkability of the flocks were controlled during the period 2007-2009.
One of the main conclusions was that the size of the breed in terms of the main exterior parameters has increased recently. Fertility and milkability have been higher over the last years compared with the data of 1999. The strategic aim of the Association is to increase the population of the controlled animals and genetic diversification of the breed with a view to increasing the genetic progress in the selection process.