Rare Breeds Canada (RBC) is a Canadian
non-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...
organization dedicated to preserving
rare breeds of Canadian
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 ...
. The organization was founded in 1987. It focuses on the rare breeds of livestock originating in Canada, including varieties of horses, sheep, pigs, chickens and cows. RBC publishes a Rare Breeds Priority List that separates livestock breeds into "critical", "endangered", "vulnerable", "at risk" and "recovering" categories. To assist with the preservation of these breeds, RBC coordinates a breeding program which uses host farms to manage small breeding groups which are used to build new flocks of animals. As the new groups are created, animals are selected for breeding and moved to new host farms, where the process is repeated. With the continuous selection of breeding stock and expansion of the host farm program, the goal is to prevent rare livestock breeds, especially those native to Canada, from going extinct. RBC works closely with
The Livestock Conservancy
The Livestock Conservancy, formerly known as the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) and prior to that, the American Minor Breeds Conservancy, is a nonprofit organization focused on preserving and promoting rare breeds, also known as ...
, a similar organization in the United States, to preserve and promote breeds that have populations in the US and Canada.
In June 2011, RBC moved their head offices to
Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot,
Quebec
Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
.
See also
*
Seeds of Diversity, a Canadian organization dedicated to preserving crop plants and pollinating insects
References
External links
Rare Breeds Canada official website
Non-profit organizations based in Manitoba
Agricultural organizations based in Manitoba
Rare breed conservation
{{nonprofit-stub