New Classified Service for Rare Breeds and Rare Breed Products

Enlarge Image Image Gallery This Gloucestershire Old Spot piglet is known as the sassy pig around the ALBC offices. courtesy American Livestock Breeds Conservancy

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Pittsboro, North Carolina – The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC), a national, nonprofit organization securing the future of agriculture through the genetic conservation of endangered breeds of livestock and poultry, announces the launch of a new online classified advertising service for promoting rare breeds.

The new service, www.ALBCrarebreedclassifieds.org, allows the general public to browse listings of rare breed livestock and poultry for sale, rare breed products such as meats and wools and other items that help secure the future of rare breeds. The site is directly geared towards small farmers, breeders, producers, and conservationists, but also serves those interested in biodiversity and sustainability. 

“This is not just another online classified site, it is a critical vehicle for the conservation of rare livestock and poultry breeds,” says Charles Bassett, executive director of ALBC.

With the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimating that the world loses an average of two domestic animal breeds each week, this service comes at a pivotal time in the evolution of the world’s agricultural food system. In the past 15 years alone, the FAO has identified the extinction of 300 out of 6,000 breeds worldwide, with another 1,350 in danger of extinction.

Many livestock and poultry breeds are on the brink of extinction because owners of these animals find it difficult to carve out a niche for rare breed products in a highly industrialized market. The new website will serve as a platform to help breeders sell their animals and products in order to increase population numbers.

Breeds of livestock and poultry are becoming endangered because agriculture has changed. Modern food production favors the use of a few highly specialized breeds selected for maximum output in intensively controlled environments. Many traditional breeds do not excel under these conditions, so have lost popularity.

Agriculture, like all biological systems, depends on genetic diversity to adapt and respond to an ever-changing environment. Genetic diversity in domestic animals is expressed as distinct breeds, each with different characteristics and uses. Traditional or heritage breeds, retain essential attributes for survival and self-sufficiency – fertility, foraging ability, longevity, maternal instincts, ability to mate naturally and resistance to diseases and parasites. As agriculture continues to develop and change, we need to be able to draw on this genetic diversity for a broad range of uses and future opportunities. Once lost, genetic diversity is gone forever.

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