In modern

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

, a rare breed is a

breed A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of harvesting animal products such as meat, Eggs as food, eggs or feathers. The practice of animal husbandry, raising poultry is known as poultry farming. These birds are most typ ...

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

that has a very small breeding population, usually from a few hundred to a few thousand. Because of their small numbers, rare breeds may have a threatened

conservation status The conservation status of a group of organisms (for instance, a species) indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing conservation ...

, and they may be protected under regional laws. Many countries have organizations devoted to the protection and promotion of rare breeds, for which they each have their own definition. In

botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

and

horticulture Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

, the parallel to rare animal breeds are

heirloom plant An heirloom plant, heirloom variety, heritage fruit (Australia and New Zealand), or heirloom vegetable (especially in Ireland and the UK) is an old cultivar of a plant used for food that is grown and maintained by gardeners and farmers, particular ...

s, which are rare

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

Definitions

There are several definitions of "breed" and "rare breed". Breeds may be defined as a group of animals that share visible characteristics, such as Pinto horses, which are all spotted. A stricter definition insists that breeds are "consistent and predictable genetic entities", which means that individuals from that breed will produce offspring that is predictably similar to their genitors, and that this similarity is genetically based. This biological definition is useful for conservation, which treats breeds as reliable sources of

genetic diversity Genetic diversity is the total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species. It ranges widely, from the number of species to differences within species, and can be correlated to the span of survival for a species. It is d ...

. Conservation organisations each have their own definition of what constitutes a rare breed. The Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) and The Livestock Conservancy (TLC) both divide rare breeds into five categories, "critical" being the rarest. TLC places a livestock breed under "critical" status when it has "fewer than 200 annual registrations in the United States and estimated global population less than 2,000". The RBST determines the status of a breed by the number of its breeding females in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. For horses and sheep, fewer than 300 is considered "critical", whereas goats and pigs must have fewer than 100 to join that category. The Poultry Club of Great Britain considers a poultry breed "Rare" when it does not have its own breed club. These "Rare Breeds" are catered by the Rare Poultry Society (RPS). The RPS does not look after breeds that count few individuals but have their own breed club. The

British Rabbit Council The British Rabbit Council (BRC) is an organisation for rabbit enthusiasts in the United Kingdom. Rabbits are the UK's third most popular pet. History The British Rabbit Council was formed in 1934 when the British Rabbit Society and the National ...

(BRC) notes in its breed standards those rabbit breeds that have been recognized by the affiliated Rare Varieties Rabbit Club, of which there are currently 26 breeds.

Causes

Major factors causing breeds to become rare are reported to include increased use of exotic breeds, weak policies and institutions in animal genetic resources management, neglect of certain breeds because of a lack of

profitability In economics, profit is the difference between revenue that an economic entity has received from its outputs and total costs of its inputs, also known as surplus value. It is equal to total revenue minus total cost, including both Explicit co ...

or competitiveness, the intensification of production systems, the effects of diseases and disease management and loss of pastures or other elements of the production environment. In postwar

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

, for example, the introduction of the Poland China pig and the Texel sheep affected populations of historic breeds, which were seen as less profitable for farmers.

Conservation

Several organizations – the

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, , translates ...

(

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

), The Livestock Conservancy, the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (UK), Rare Breeds Canada, the SVF Foundation (US) – promote conservation of rare livestock and poultry breeds for their unique traits, which can contribute to general

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

and cultural heritage.

Animal Husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, animal fiber, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising ...

can be important to livestock production in harsh environments and may contribute to the adaptation of livestock populations to challenges such as shifts in disease epidemiology, climate or market demands. Conservation activities may include in situ conservation programmes supporting the maintenance of breeds in their normal production environments (i.e. on farms, ranches or in pastoralist herds or flocks) and

ex situ conservation FILE:Entrance to the Seed Vault (cropped).jpg, Svalbard Global Seed Vault, Svalbard Global Seed Bank, an ' conservation ''Ex situ'' conservation () is the process of protecting an endangered species, variety, or breed of plant or animal outside ...

programmes in which animals are kept at sites such as zoos or special conservation farms or genetic material (e.g. semen or embryos) is maintained in a cryoconserved form. In 2009, The Livestock Conservancy launched an online classified advertising service for promoting rare breeds. It allows the general public to "browse listings of rare breed livestock and poultry for sale, rare breed products such as meats and wools and other items that help secure the future of rare breeds".

Other interests of rare breeds

Beyond the concerns of conservation organisations, there are other reasons for individuals or groups to keep rare breed animals. Rare breeds can be popular with hobby farmers, as they often require less intensive management. Some rare breeds are kept by tourist attractions for their value in attracting visitors. Some farmers also prefer to sell meat from rare breeds, as they believe such breeds offer higher quality produce.

References

Sources

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