Domestic quail (<i>Coturnix japonica domestica</i>), is there such farm animal?

Abstract

Around 10% of all table eggs number in the world come from quail and their meat represents about 0.2% of the global poultry production. The domestic quail population involved in production of meat and eggs represents around 11.8% of all productive birds, placing them second after laying hens. China, Spain, France, Italy, Brazil, the USA and Japan are global leading countries in quail farming. Contemporary domesticated Japanese quail, widely used in agricultural practice, originate from wild Japanese breeds (C. japonica). The wild Asian quail is similar to common quail (Coturnix coturnix) and until recently, was accepted as its subspecies (Coturnix coturnix japonica). In the scientific literature, several names for domestic quail are available, so readers can easily become confused as to which species is really meant - wild, domesticated or common quail. In order to avoid confusion of names and to emphasise changes resulting from domestication, the term ‘domestic quail’ and its corresponding Latin name Coturnix japonica domestica is more appropriate. Within the EU legal framework, domestic quail should be included in parallel to other domestic fowl species.