Evaluation of the effective factors on reducing the population of Sistani cattle and the revitalization strategies

Reducing the population size of Sistani cattle due to the multi various reasons during the last years, was the motivation of the current study. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the factors of population decline and strategies to increase the population and revive this breed. For this purpose, a questionnaire was developed using the Delphi method. Questionnaire was included 21 reasons and 18 strategies related to the situation of Sistani cattle population. Based on the breeders’ insight, drought in the Sistan region during last three decades was considered as the most important factor in reducing the population of Sistani cattle, and for both groups, the least important factor affecting population decline is the uneconomic importance of Sistani cattle (P < 0.05). Both groups were agreed that climatic factors are the most important in reducing the population of Sistani cattle and almost no differences in this regard were observed between the two groups (P > 0.05). From the breeders' point of view, economic support for Sistani cattle breeders is the most important way to support the Sistani cattle population, while experts believe that the most important way is to rehabilitate Hamoun Wetland. In general, the results of this study showed that due to the changing and varying climate of Sistan region, attention to economic issues and support for breeders can largely compensate for the problems caused by unfavorable climatic conditions in the rehabilitation of Sistani cattle population.