A breeding program is the planned
breeding of a group of
animal
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Biology, biological Kingdom (biology), kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, ...
s or
plant
Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...
s, usually involving at least several individuals and extending over several
generations. There are a couple of breeding methods, such as artificial (which is man made) and natural (it occurs on its own).
According to the
Dutch State Secretary of
Economic Affairs the delivery of young animals is important for the natural behavior of the mother, the herd and is desirable from a veterinary perspective.
Breeding programs are commonly employed in several fields where humans wish to change the characteristics of their animals' offspring through careful selection of breeding partners:
*
Dog and
cat fanciers may coordinate a breeding program to raise the probability of an animal's litter producing a championship-caliber animal.
*Horse breeders try to produce fast
racehorse
Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...
s through breeding programs.
*Conservationists use breeding programs to try to help the recovery of
endangered species
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...
by preserving the existing
gene pool and preventing
inbreeding
Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely genetic distance, related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genet ...
.
*There also can be breeding programs for plants. For instance, a winery owner, seeking to find a better tasting wine, could design a breeding program so that only the vines whose grapes make the very best wine are allowed to breed.
See also
*
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 ...
*
Captive breeding
Captive breeding, also known as captive propagation, is the process of keeping plants or animals in controlled environments, such as wildlife reserves, zoos, Botanical garden, botanic gardens, and other Conservation biology, conservation facilitie ...
*
European Endangered Species Programme The EAZA Ex-situ Programme (EEP) is a population management and Ex situ conservation, conservation programme by European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) for wild animals living in European zoos. The p ...
*
''Ex-situ'' conservation
*
Eugenics
*
Selective breeding
References
{{Portal bar, Agriculture, Animals, Plants, Food, Earth sciences
Plant reproduction
Livestock
Breeding