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Endangered Farm Animals
One half of all goat, sheep and swine breeds face extinction. The same
is true for one third of cattle and a quarter of horse breeds. These
are startling numbers, considering the vast amounts of farmland and large
quantities of livestock nationwide. Most of the breeds that are dying
out are rare breeds that do not produce meat and fiber as quickly as
newer breeds. However, they have their important part in the past, present
and future of agriculture.
One of the goals of the Oregon Zoo’s Trillium Creek Family Farm exhibit
is to educate visitors on these rare livestock breeds. This includes heritage
breeds – animals descending from the original, ancestral genes
of the creatures.
So why is it important to help the survival of this livestock? These
animal breeds have survived for thousands of years – some from the origins
of the Americas and some dating as far back as the Roman Empire. They are
extremely adaptable, disease-free, worm-resistant and incredibly resilient – characteristics
that aren’t as important in today’s agricultural world
of quick growth and mass production. As selective breeding eliminates
heritage
breeds,
it also risks causing genetic issues: newer breeds of livestock could
lack important immunities. Preserving older genes in heritage breeds
allows
farmers to breed back to fix deformities in the gene pool if necessary.
The rare breeds featured at the Oregon Zoo have their place in history – they
hark back to a time when Oregon was a vast agricultural center. These
livestock teach visitors about history, preservation and conservation.
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