A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN TROPICAL ANIMAL PRODUCTION OF SOKOINE UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE. MOROGORO, TANZANIA.A study was carried out in Bahi, Kwimba, Ngorongoro and Same districts in Tanzania to assess consumer preferences and meat characteristics of four Small East African (SEA) goat strains raised under traditional livestock production system. The study aimed at determining age, sex and meat cuts preferred by consumers in the four districts and comparing the carcass characteristics of Sonjo, Pare, Gogo and Sukuma goats raised in those districts. To determine the age, sex and meat cuts preferred by consumers a household survey was conducted in the four districts. Information on consumers’ preferences on goat meat attributes was gathered using a structured questionnaire. In each district, two goat meat shops and 15 goat meat consumers per meat shop were randomly selected for interview. Descriptive statistics were used to generate means, frequency and percentages of variables studied. The majority (48%) of the respondents interviewed had primary school education and this was observed in all districts. Only few respondents reported to have secondary school education level (19%), University education level (3%) and informal education (2%). The results revealed that the preference for meat from different livestock species was significantly different (P ≤ 0.05) among the four districts. The majority of the respondents interviewed across the districts consumed goat meat and most of them were found in Ngorongoro district while pork meat was consumed more in Same district than in the other districts. Mutton was least preferred in Bahi district than in the other districts. The majority of the respondents consumed beef (28%) and goat meat (27%) three to four times in a week and 21% of the respondents consumed five to six times per month. Very few respondents (3%) ate meals that included pork every day. The highest percentage of people who ate beef daily (17%) were observed in Ngorongoro, Bahi and Kwimba. Beef was the most frequently consumed meat, followed by goat meat (10%) and mutton (10%). Most of the respondents (58%) scored excellent for taste of goat meat, while 48.3% scored very good on juiciness and 55.8% of the respondents scored poor on fatness. Castrate was the most predominantly (49.2%) consumed sex of goats compared to entire male and female. Goats of two to three years were the most preferred by consumers (59.2%) compared to other age groups (< 1 year and > 3 years). The most preferred part of the goat carcass was the hind leg (60.8%), followed by fore leg (51%) and loin (49%) due to leanness. Hind legs were the carcass parts which fetched the highest price (TZS 10 317 ± 3844.83 in Kwimba district, TZS 9966 ± 511.89 in Same district, TZS 9676 ± 461.01 in Ngorongoro district and TZS 9233 ± 379.88 in Bahi district). For non- edible meat parts the majority (94%) of the respondents preferred lungs, followed by testicle (91%) and nose (89%) in all districts. Among the non- carcass components livers was sold at the highest price (TZS 5817 ± 199.64), followed by intestines (TZS 5591 ± 189.71) in Same district. Heart was sold at the lowest price (TZS 1622 ± 90.44) in Ngorongoro district. For specific objective 2, a study was conducted to determine carcass characteristics and meat composition of four strains of SEA i.e. Gogo, Sonjo, Pare and Sukuma. Animals from each strain were sampled from two villages in the respective districts where the goat strain is dominant. A total of six adult goats (three males and three females) at the age of 1 – 3 years from each village were purchased from livestock farmers and slaughtered, making a sample size of 48 goats for study two. After slaughtering and evisceration, the left half carcass was jointed into standards joints and composition was determined by dissecting the carcass into lean, bone and fat. Lean, bone and fat were scrubbed from each joint using a scalpel blade and then weighed separately. Longissimus dorsii muscle was sampled for proximate analysis. Gogo (10.3 ± 0.45 kg) and Pare (9.8 ± 0.44 kg) goats had heavier mean (± se) carcasses than Sonjo (7.8 ± 0.45 kg) and Sukuma (8.4 ± 0.44 kg). There were significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) among the strains in terms of weight of non-carcass components and linear carcass measurements. Fore leg, hind leg, and ribs contributed more than 60% of the carcass weight and Gogo goats had the highest values for these meat cuts. The carcasses of goats slaughtered contained 65.2 – 67% muscle, 23.5 – 25.7% bone and 8.4 – 10.7% fat. Sonjo goats had the highest muscle mass in the hind leg and significantly (P ≤ 0.05) differed from Pare, but not (P > 0.05) from Gogo and Sukuma goats. The lowest proportion of muscle was found in the ribs of the Sonjo goats. The highest proportion of bones was found in the ribs of Gogo goats and was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) different from that of Sukuma but not (P > 0.05) from that of Pare and Sonjo goats. For the hind leg, Pare goat carcass had more bones than Sonjo goats, but had values similar to those of Gogo and Sukuma goats. Primal cut with the highest proportion of fat was the breast (23.83%), which was observed in the Sonjo goats and the lowest (4.47%) was found in the foreleg of the Pare goats. With regard to chemical composition, only crude protein and ash contents were significantly (P ≤ 0.05) influenced by strain. Pare goats had carcass with less crude protein content (20.7%) than the carcasses from other goat strains. The carcass from Sukuma goats had the least mineral content (4.01%) and differed significantly (P ≤ 0.05) from that of Sonjo (4.43%), but not (P > 0.05) to that of Gogo (4.11%) and Pare goats (4.25%). It can be concluded from the first study that, goat meat is highly preferred than other meat types like beef, mutton, pork and chicken. Goat meat is highly preferred in Ngorongoro district compared to Bahi, Same and Kwimba districts. Hind leg and fore legs are the most preferred meat cuts and highly priced in all districts. From the second study, it is concluded that, there is significant variation among the SEA goat strains in carcass and killing out characteristics, tissue distribution (meat, bones and fat) in the meat cuts and carcass chemical composition. Gogo and Pare goats yield higher slaughter and carcasses weights than Sukuma and Sonjo goats. It is recommended that efforts are needed to improve the breed (Gogo and Pare) which revealed bigger carcass weight and meat cuts and also with good qualities.