Watchlist |
The Rare Breeds Survival Trust | Cattle | Pigs | Sheep | Goats | Horses and Ponies | Poultry |
Cattle
Updated: January 2008
See also: Stock Exchange (Cattle Sales)
Critical |
Endangered |
Vulnerable |
At Risk |
Minority |
| Aberdeen Angus (original population) | Whitebred Shorthorn | Irish Moiled | Gloucester | British White |
| The Chillingham Wild Cattle | Lincoln Red (original population) | Hereford (original population) | ||
| Northern Dairy Shorthorn | Shetland | |||
| Vaynol | White Park | |||
Other native breeds: Aberdeen Angus, Ayrshire, Beef Shorthorn, Belted Galloway, Devon, Galloway, Guernsey, Hereford, Highland, Jersey, Lincoln Red, Longhorn, Luing, Red Poll, Shorthorn, South Devon, Sussex, Welsh Black |
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Historically the native cattle breeds of Britain have been more influential than breeds from any other country in the world. Their Global influence is still readily apparent.
After the Second World War, the cattle industry went through a revolution to satisfy the need for vast quantities of beef at low prices. There was a demand for larger cattle that could be reared quickly to produce lean meat in bulk mainly from concentrated commercial feeds.
These larger breeds were sourced mainly from continental Europe and rapidly displaced our famous and valuable British Breeds, some of which came close to extinction.
RBST monitors ALL native British breeds to ensure that they survive come what may. Our support for the breeds includes the development and maintenance of our semen bank, which currently contains 1200 bulls of a wide range of breeds; some of those represented date from as far back as 1964.
With Dual Purpose (Meat and Milk) and Dairy Cattle breeds, we face even greater challenges, as the Dairy Industry, already a difficult business for farmers using the ubiquitous large black and white Holstein, we find that legislation, and production led demands for quantity not quality conspire to exclude the breeds we represent, even though, as in the case of the Gloucester, a handful of producers have demonstrated that the milk makes Artisan cheese that cannot be replicated by using mass produced milk.
Our British breeds are unique; they must be available for future generations. They do not demand high inputs; they were developed to be kept economically. You can help us restore them to their rightful place, by considering carefully how they may contribute to your farming enterprise.