Heritage breeds
NICK USBORNE (nick.usborne@oth.islandnet.com)
Tue, 21 Feb 95 17:11:00 -0800
My name is Nick Usborne and I've been logged on to this board for a week
or so now. I've been receiving lots of interesting mail and thought it
was time to pass on a little information in the other direction.
My wife and I run a facility called Wilding Heritage Farm on vancouver
Island, B.C. Our farm is a conservation centre and is home to 17
different breeds of endangered farm animals. Breeds like the Berkshire
pig which used to be the commonest breed in Canada and is now down to
fewer than 80 registered females. In addition to being a breeding
centre, we're also open to the public as an educational facility and,
indeed, a tourist destination. Right now this is the only place of its
kind in Canada. We hope that our educational programs and public
admissions will pay for our conservation work. We hope our pan works!
The genetics of farm animals, here and around the world, are in a state
of serious decline. Ten thousand years of animal husbandry and breeding
saw a growing genetic diversity, both in numbers of breeds and within
breeds. The last fifty years has seen a dramatic reversal of that
history. So if anyone out there is interested in our work here, or
would like to find out more about the many organizations and groups
around the world working to save these breeds, let us know. And will
someone please tell me how to get nack into this text to correct all the
typos! Thank you.