Even farm animals go extinct

[unhappycamper]

Even farm animals go extinct
By Jacques Diouf | August 23, 2007


IN THE Colombian Andes, the Blanco Orejinegro cattle breed, known for its longevity, tolerance to high altitudes, and resistance to parasites, is under threat; only 260 animals of this breed remain. Time may also be running out for the fat-tailed Namaqua Africander sheep of South Africa, a breed highly adapted to harsh, arid desert environments. Only one flock of 400 animals remains.

Equally grim is the outlook for the Yakut cattle of Siberia. These highly adapted animals can tolerate subzero temperatures and poor feeding, and exhibit resistance to tuberculosis, leucosis, and brucellosis, problem diseases for cattle in the region. Yet just 900 animals are left.

One livestock breed a month has become extinct over the past seven years -- that means its genetic characteristics have been lost forever. Around 20 percent of the world's breeds of cattle, goats, pigs, horses, and poultry are at risk of extinction, according to a report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. The report offers the first global overview of livestock biodiversity and of the capacity of countries to manage their animal genetic resources.

Strenuous efforts to understand and protect the world's animal genetic resources for food and agriculture are urgently needed. Many breeds at risk of extinction have unique characteristics, such as disease resistance or tolerance to climatic strains, which future generations may need to draw on to cope with climate change, emerging animal diseases, and rising demand for specific livestock products.

Wise management of agricultural biodiversity is becoming an ever greater challenge. The livestock sector in particular is undergoing rapid changes as large-scale intensive production expands in response to surging demand for meat, milk, and eggs. This has led to heavy reliance on a very narrow range of high-output breeds, frequently resulting in the crowding out of local animals.

In the next 40 years, the world's population will rise from 6.2 billion to 9 billion, with all this growth occurring in developing countries. More people will require more meat, milk, eggs, and other livestock products. A wide portfolio of animal genetic resources is crucial to adapting and developing the world's agricultural production systems and increasing the resilience of our food supply. It is even more worrying that genetic resources are being lost before their characteristics are recorded and before their potential is evaluated.


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[Donnachaidh]

1. Soylent green time

I always found it ironic that Charleton Heston was in a movie about our possible future, caused by man's mistakes. If you haven't seen that film -- try to.

[YankeyMCC]

2. Bio-Diversity is important even in domestication

and the monoculture we're creating around limited numbers of live stock and corn is just putting us on an ever more fragile (no matter how big it seems) foundation.

[The2ndWheel]

3. "Wise management of agricultural biodiversity is becoming an ever greater challenge"

That's because you can't manage diversity.

"large-scale intensive production expands"

Which helps destroy diversity.

If we want to manage the world, it won't be very diverse, since we're managing it for us, and only us. Diversity isn't efficient. Everything we do in managing the world is about efficiency, or else we wouldn't try to manage it. We don't get to have everything.

[Nikia]

4. Agriculture always involves management

The population of most agriculutually important animals relies on planned breeding. The way to perserve a breed is to breed it in larger numbers.