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Workshop Stressed the Urgent Need of Conserving Animal Genetic Resources

Date: 2023.04.18

What does a pig in southern Sweden have in common with a goat off the Norwegian coast and a cow in northern Finland? It might sound as the start of a joke, but the answer isn’t funny. Truth is, they are all farm animal breeds at risk of disappearing. Conservation efforts are urgently needed, which is also the topic of a workshop arranged this week by NordGen and NMBU.

The Nordic region have about 140 native farm animal breeds. These are breeds that have enabled human survival for centuries and thereby adapted to our climate and way of life. Although not as productive as commercial breeds, these native breeds are still important for the future, not least because of their genetic base, making them well adapted to the Nordic climate and local resources. Today, there is an urgent need to conserve Nordic native farm animal breeds, as many of them are classified as threatened.

Two-day workshop

NordGen Farm Animals arrange the workshop in collaboration with the NordFrost Network, the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU). It has the title Conservation of animal genetic resources: Towards conserving Nordic livestock biodiversity. Fourteen invited speakers were part of the program, starting with Sipke Joost Hiemstra from the Centre for Genetic Resources (CGN) at Wageningen University & Research who opened the workshop with a lecture on the importance of livestock genebanks, including a European outlook.

“We need to bend the curve of declining biodiversity. Most the European livestock breeds are at risk but few of them are conserved. To save them for the future, we must increase our conservation efforts, both in genebanks and through sustainable production and consumption”, he said.

Although arguing that more needs to be done, Sipke Joost Hiemstra presented several projects and networks on the European level which are working with the conservation and sustainable use of animal genetic resources. He also shared the positive news that a new European reference center for endangered animal breeds (EURC-EAB) has been established and is active from 2023.

For a future unknown

From Stallion AI Services, Gemini Genetics & charity Nature’s Safe in the UK, Lucy Morgan gave a presentation on behalf of Director Tullis Matson on the future of genebanks for animal genetic resources. Nature Safe is a charity and one of Europe’s fist animal tissue banks with the mission to Save Animals From Extinction (Safe) by collecting, indefinitely storing and regenerating reproductive cells and cell lines from endangered animal species. Stallion AI Services, Gemini Genetics & charity Nature’s SAFE

“ We need biobanking for a number of different reasons; to secure breeds and species survival, to regain lost traits, to handle new diseases and to save genetic diversity. In short, we need biobanking as a protection against the future unknown. And considering climate change, our future is potentially going to be quite a challenging one“, she said.

Apart from the above mentioned, the workshop gathered speakers with several different perspectives on conservation of animal genetic resources. Apart from universities and research organizations, such as The Norwegian Genetic Resource Centre at NIBIO, Aarhus University, Leibniz University Hannover, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Natural Resource Institute Finland, Faroese Islands Agricultural Agency and University of South Bohemia, the program also included representatives from non-governmental organizations, such as the Rare Breeds Survival Trust and Cryo Arks and The Frozen Ark and breeding organisations such as French Poultry and Aquaculture Breeders Technical Centre.

The second day of the workshop will be devoted to the current state of the Nordic native animal breeds. The workshop will be finalized with a round-table discussion on if there is a need for a Nordic livestock genebank.

“This workshop and other outreach activities are important because we need to raise awareness about the pressing situation of farm animal breeds, both in the Nordics and in Europe. With more knowledge about the issue, steps can be taken to revert the current dismal trend of more and more native animal breeds at risk of becoming extinct”, says Mervi Honkatukia, Section Leader at NordGen Farm Animals.