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Unique farm breeds becoming extinct
5 Sep 2007
A report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation says that livestock production has become too reliant on a few high-yielding breeds and that hardier breed more suited to poorer countries are being lost. The report found that 20 per cent of the more than 7,600 breeds of livestock and poultry are at risk of extinction with almost one breed lost every month for the past six years. The survey looked at livestock in almost 170 countries, finding that 90 per cent of the cattle in industrialised nations came from six tightly defined breeds. Higher yielding European stock is quickly replacing local breeds in developing countries which currently account for almost 70 per cent of the world's remaining unique breeds. The problem is illustrated by a case in Uganda where, during a recent drought, farmers who held on to their hardy Ankole cattle could walk them long distances to water, but those who had traded them for Holstein-Friesians lost entire herds.
The Australian, 5/09/2007
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