*The article was badly photocopied, and I had trouble reading some words :) Sorry!
Back to 'Other Sources'
Back to 'Other Sources'
Opening the conference, Professor Allan Rae said recently developed high-performance breeds of livestock have ousted local breeds.
Economic conditions and market requirements could change, he said, and the genetic merits of the old breeds could again be in demand.
At least nine sheep breeds known to have once existed in New Zealand have disappeared, and the actual number is likely to be twice that, according to Dr George Wickham of Massey. A further seven are now threatened, including the once popular Cheviot and Southdown, he said.
Breeding flock registrations owed the magnitude of the de_ne*, Dr Wickham said. Southdown breeding flocks went from __1 flocks with 132,439 ewes in 1980, to 101 flocks with only 50 ewes in 1987. Cheviot numbers had fallen from 101 flocks with over 6000 ewes, to 25 flocks with just 2800 ewes in the same period.
Shropshire, the most threatened breed, now has only four flocks with 114 ewes.pbr> There has also been a dramatic shift in cattle breeds since the 1960s, retired Massey animal scientist Bob Barton said. Until galloways were introduced in the late 1940s, New Zealand cattle were predominantly shorthorns. There were no further importations till the 1960's when many new breeds were brought into New Zealand, he said.
Dominant breeds now include herefords, angus, fresians, jerseys and ayrshires.
The lack of a strong domestic market for veal has conditioned breed selection in New Zealand, Mr Barton said. In Victoria, where there is a large market for veal, the dual-purpose shorthorns are still popular, while New Zealand farmers breed for either beef or dairying characteristics.
New Zealand has never produced a unique cattle breed, Mr Barton said. None of the thirty breeds in New Zealand is rare worldwide.
Pig-breeding worldwide is dominated by the Scandinavian landrance and the English large white, Dr Bill Smith said. Other breeds very popular till after World War II, have faded from view.
Thr last reported tamworth in New Zealand was slaughtered in 1981 and the last large black in 1978. Both are also rare breeds in their native Britain.
In 1938 there were over 2000 Berkshire breeding sows. By 1986 there were less than a hundred. There had been as many Tamworth in New Zealand as large whites in the 1920s, Dr Smith said, and the landrace had not yet been introduced.
The Kune-Kune, the strange barrel-shaped pig of unknown origin once kept by Maori communities, now numbers only about 160. A separate society to preserve the Kune-Kune was formed last year.
All the scientists addressing the conference agreed that maintenance of the genetic pools repressed by rare breeds is valuable insurance against economic changes in the future. Several said farmers followed fashion as well as the dictates of the economy. many farmers would not persist with an older breed simply because they were afraid of ridicule.
The new society plans to keep registers of rare breeds of sheep, cattle, goats, deer, pigs, horses and poultry and efficiently keep track of numbers and breeders. Modelled on the English Livestock Preservation Trust, the group will also publicise the rare breed cause at A and P Shows and breed conferences.
The society is the result of the initiative of two Carterton women, Bobbie O'Hara and Helen McKenzie. The conference was organised by Hugh Blair of Massey University.
Professor Rae said the society had important choices to make. Breeds could be maintained in their existing genetic state, or they could be further bred to improve performance. The special attributes of some breeds might be bred into more popular breeds to ensure their continuation, he said.
Some concern was expressed at the conference about the fate of feral cattle and sheep populations. Dr Mike Rudge of the Department of Scientific and Industrial research said that while some reserves have been set up, populations interfering with native wildlife, for example the cattle on the Auckland Islands, would probably be shot.
Landcorp, now preparing a management plan for the islands, might consider saving some if the proper proposal with funding was made, Dr Rudge said.