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The current study was conducted in order to evaluate the potential for meat production of the Tsigai sheep, as maternal breed, when crossed with native Palas Meat Breed and imported specialised breeds for meat production, such as Suffolk and German Blackface. The article is a review in which up-to-date results on crossbreeding between the Tsigai sheep and meat sire breeds are being presented. The results were obtained by different authors between 1976 and 2016. The results are presented based on the applied fattening technology and the genotype structure of the lambs. The growth rates and the quality of the meat and of resulting carcasses were superior in all cases in the intensive fattening systems in the crossbred lambs, compared to the Romanian local Tsigai breed.

With a national flock of 10.07 million sheep, Romania currently occupies the 3rd place in the EU (after the UK and Spain) in terms of the sheep numbers. However, only 0.85% (85.419 heads) are being reared in organic production systems. The development of sheep breeding in organic systems is very heavily influenced by the economic factors, but also by the consumer demand for organic products. An empirical study on consumer behavior towards sheep meat produced in organic system was developed in 2016. The aim of the study was to assess the possibility of developing sheep breeding sector in the organic system, in the terms of the consumer’s behavior towards sheep meat obtained in organic system in order to develop strategies that will lead to sustainable development of the sector. The finding shown that 85% of consumers consider that sheep meat produced in organic farming system is more expensive compared to that produced in the conventional systems. However, 74% of respondents believe that higher prices are justified. The availability of the respondents to pay an additional price for organic sheep product is high, hovering around 77%. Current research highlights the potential production and marketing of sheep from Romania in organic system, which could have a positive impact on overall farm income and on animal welfare.