FAQs Regarding Rare Breeds

What Are Rare Breeds?

Did you know that between 1900 and 1973 more than 20 unique breeds of British farm animals became extinct - their genetic diversity lost forever? There are over 70 rare breeds of sheep, cattle, goats, pigs, horses, ponies and poultry supported by the Trust - some of which are rarer than the Giant Panda. There are 20 Approved Conservation Centres around the country where you can see examples of rare breeds. There are 50 accredited butchers around the country selling meat from rare breeds and helping their conservation through encouraging more of the animals to be kept. Conserving rare breeds is not just a matter for sentiment.Rare breeds are an essential part of greener farming systems - helping the environment and improving the quality of the food we eat. Founded in 1973, the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) is the national conservation organisation whose aim is to secure sustainable futures for those native British breeds of farm animal identified as being rare and threatened within the UK . The Trust currently lists over 70 rare breeds (including cattle, goats, horses, pigs, poultry and sheep) using a set of guidelines based on conservation criteria. Rare breed populations meeting these criteria are compiled as the annual RBST Watchlist.

What Can We Do / Is Being Done?

Those of our rare breeds which are designed as meat producers often became rare because they did not suit modern, more intensive systems of production. Accordingly, this means that they mature more slowly, usually on a natural diet without artificial growth promoters. As a consequence, the meat is of the highest quality when it comes to eating enjoyment. Don't take our word for it - at Bristol University they have conducted scientific analysis to back up what we have known for years.

Please don't fall into the trap of thinking that because these are "rare" we should not be eating them. These are farm animals as opposed to tigers or pandas and need a market to encourage people to keep them. The more demand there is for their produce, the less rare they become. In other words, by eating the non-breeding produce of many of these breeds, you are helping to save them.

The RBST (Rare Breeds Survival Trust)  set up its Traditional Breeds Meat Marketing Scheme (TBMMS) to establish a chain of distribution through carefully selected butchers up and down the country. These Accredited Butchers supply meat from named pure bred rare breeds. They are identified by the breed because each breed has its own distinctive eating qualities and you can choose the one that suits your needs accordingly.

These Accredited Butchers often also supply top flight hotels and restaurants and celebrity chefs are now also discovering the delights of well produced meat from rare breeds.

"Middle White pork has the crispiest skin and the best flavoured fat to accompany its fantastic tasting meat."
Michel Roux, Le Gavroche Restaurant, London

Of Gloucestershire Old Spots pork - "Everyone was impressed by the quality and flavour of the pork and its crisp crackling. It was a rare treat…"
Derek Cooper,
BBC Good Food

"The White Park, a breed I've never eaten before and I had always assumed was purely ornamental, was really excellent: soft, chewy, with that strong, distinctive, almost corrupt flavour of proper beef, like eating an old roué uncle. If you've only had supermarket meat - or don't have uncles - it may come as a shock, but it was the best steak I've had this year."
AA Gill, Table Talk,
The Sunday Times

Of Dexter beef - "It was quite simply the best beef I have ever tasted."
Aaron Patterson, Head Chef at Hambleton Hall, Leicestershire

"Our saddles of lamb are all Southdown and have been for many years. Our customers demand only the best."
Brian Clivaz, MD, Simpson's-in-the-Strand, London

"For the public to appreciate how wonderful and different 'real' meat tastes, it is vital that the Rare Breeds Survival Trust receives all the support it can from everyone who cares about 'real' farming."
Antony Worrall Thompson

Through experience over a number of years, the RBST has found that the best conservation measures are to find genuine uses for rare breeds, to make them attractive to potential users again. There is much enjoyment to be had from keeping many of our rare breeds but if it cannot be done profitably, then numbers decline and the breeds become simply living museum pieces. With over 70 breeds among six species, uses are diverse and numerous. Sometimes the uptake is very low but if home spinning or horse logging creates an opportunity for even a few animals to be kept profitably, then that helps the overall conservation effort.

Meat
There is a separate section on meat marketing which explains the Trust's philosophy in greater detail. Most farm animals were created to provide traction, dairy produce, fibre or meat and most of those that we are left with as rare breeds come into the last category. Only by utilising them in the best way for them can we hope to expand numbers. Thus rare breed pigs are kept for pork or bacon production, beef cattle for beef and most sheep breeds for lamb or mutton.

Most rare breeds do this very well. They may not have the conformation to suit today's mass market but what they lack in uniformity, they make up for in flavour, succulence and sheer eating enjoyment. It will certainly help the conservation of rare breeds if more members of the public seek out our Accredited Butchers or genuine rare breeds in Farmers' Markets and consume the delicious products on offer.

Wool
Nearly all sheep grow wool and for welfare reasons need to be shorn in early summer. The fleece is then sold to the British Wool Marketing Board and sold on the international market. Unfortunately, wool is being over produced in the world as a whole, (most clothes, carpets etc. now being made from man-made fibres), and thus prices do not cover the cost of shearing. As with meat, different breeds of sheep provide different qualities and colours of wool and the RBST encourages specialised producers and marketing of products made from named rare breeds.

There are a number of companies who are helping to promote rare breeds by processing and marketing quality products from named rare breeds and some of these are shown below. Whether you are a producer or a potential customer, do check them out.

Cotswold Woollen Weavers (Website: www.naturalbest.co.uk)
RE Dickie Ltd (Website: www.britishwool.com)
Island Heritage (Website: www.islandheritage.co.uk)
Natural Fibre Company (Website: www.thenaturalfibre.co.uk)

Sheepskins are another important commodity where breeders can recover some of the cost of keeping rare breeds. Some sheep provide wonderful skins when cured and whether you are a producer looking to arrange for some tanning or someone looking to buy a rare breed sheepskin, contact Niki Port through www.organicsheepskins.co.uk

Rare breed wool is also very popular with hand spinners and a useful alternative market can be achieved through contacts in this field. At the RBST's National Show & Sale, there is a Bring & Buy stall for such fleeces and a good trade can be expected for well-presented, good quality fleeces from almost all rare breeds of sheep.

Dairy Produce
The milk from each breed varies in its make-up and quality. Some are higher in butterfat than others (i.e. Channel Islands ) and that from some of the more dairy types of rare breed cattle have some specialist applications.

For cheese making, the size of the fat globules is important and the smaller the globules, generally, the better. Thus some niche markets are developing for milk from breeds such as Gloucesters and Red Polls for specialist craft-made cheeses. Such specialisation allows producers to add value to their produce, especially now that there is the opportunity to sell their production direct to the public through Farmers' Markets.

Conservation grazing
Awareness of the environment has created a new market where rare breeds are to the fore. This is utilisation of the living animal to graze environmentally sensitive areas such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), nature reserves etc. Natural pastures need grazing to prevent the grasses swamping other plants and herbs and many rare breeds do this extremely well. Not only do they graze on the right sort of plants, but often they are smaller than mainstream breeds and their feet do less damage to the ground (known as 'poaching') in poor weather.

More primitive animals are better able to digest poorer plants and thus can help to remove gorse or whin, birch, roan or willow scrub, coarse grasses and sedges etc. It appears that Shropshire sheep have a specialist role in Christmas tree plantations as they are claimed to only eat the grass between the trees and not the conifers themselves. This specialisation has led to them being imported into Denmark to fulfil just such a role.

Pigs are not regarded as grazing animals in the same way as our other rare breed species but they too can fulfil a specialist role in forestry work. Their rooting habit can clear the floor of mature woodland of scrub plants and saplings such as bramble, bracken, roan etc. in much the same way as their forebears the wild boar once did.

Specialist Equine Roles
Today's uses for horses and ponies are nearly all leisure- or sport-based and nearly all our rare breeds have a role to play. The medium-sized breeds are widely used for crossing with Thoroughbreds to produce high quality working hunters and event horses. Heavier breeds too can be crossed to produce heavy hunters. The ponies all offer a good, sound temperament for riding animals. Certain breeds such as the Dales and Fell ponies and Cleveland Bays are popular for driving pursuits. The Dales and Fell and Suffolk , Clydesdale and Shire all have a use in horse logging projects and the last three also provide those spectacular displays at shows drawing brewery and other trade wagons. And if you happen to see the exciting display by the Royal Horse Artillery, you will be watching pure bred Irish Draught horses in action.

What Makes A Breed Rare?

The Rare Breeds Survival Trust currently lists over 70 rare breeds (including cattle, goats, horses, pigs, poultry and sheep) using a set of guidelines based on conservation criteria. Rare breed populations meeting these criteria are compiled as the annual RBST Watchlist.

The main requirements governing acceptance onto the RBST Watchlist are;

Section A: Genetic Basis(6)

1.      The Trust considers for listing only the proportion of 'original population'(4) animals in a breed

2.      The breed or 'original population' should ideally be closed (as of 2001, no upgrading is permitted in any breed listed by the RBST except where breeding plans have been agreed). Details and duration of the closure must be submitted to the Trust.

3.      The breed should have been in existence for forty years plus six generations (where a generation [years] is as follows; cattle - 6, sheep - 4, goats - 5, horses - 10, pigs - 2, poultry - 2). All breed societies applying for acceptance by the Trust should submit a complete set of herd, flock or stud books spanning the forty years plus six generation period referred to above.

Section B: Numerical Basis

1.      A breed (or 'original population' part thereof) can be listed by the RBST if there are fewer that the following number of registered adult females in existence: cattle - 1500, goats - 1000, horses - 3000, pigs - 1000, poultry - 3000, sheep - 3000.

2.      The number of registrations per year over the past five years should be submitted in summary form with the herd, flock or studbooks.

Section C: Current Trends(7)

1.      The number of adult registered females during the past five years are assessed to examine current trends in population size.

2.      Breed density and distribution nationwide are considered, in addition to other breed-specific factors shown to significantly affect endangerment.

A numerical guide to the Watchlist categories (registered adult females)(1)

Footnotes

1.      Watchlist categories may not be defined by populati on number alone, so this table should serve only as a guideline

2.      Feral - to include populations of domestic animals no longer managed by man.

3.      Imported - breeds listed in this category are not native to the UK and must have been supported as a rare breed by the Trust before category revision in 2001.

4.      Original population - the proportion of full registered animals that have no recorded input from other breeds.

5.      All breeds that were listed by the Trust in 2001 will continue to be supported as a whole breed. No further upgrading will be permitted in these breeds except where breeding plans have been agreed with the Trust.

6.      The RBST may occasionally accept breeds that do not answer yes to 2) or 3), if the Trust considers a breed to be of genetic conservation importance.

7.      If it can be shown that a breed is subject to a degree of endangerment not associated with its numerical status, it may be re-categorised accordingly.

We hope the information on this page has opened your eyes to the threat these breeds face if we do not act now and continue the promising work done by the RBST and its associates.

To visit the RBST Website go to www.rbst.org.uk

| Home | Products | Friends and Associates Of Walling's Meats | The Team | Links |

| Contact Us | How To Find Us |