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Endangered
Farm Animals
One half of all goat, sheep and swine breeds face extinction. The same is true
for one third of cattle and a quarter of horse breeds. These are startling
numbers, considering the vast amounts of farmland and large quantities of livestock
nationwide. Most of the breeds that are dying out are rare breeds that do not
produce meat and fiber as quickly as newer breeds. However, they have their
important part in the past, present and future of agriculture.
One of the goals of the Oregon Zoo’s Trillium Creek Family Farm exhibit
is to educate visitors on these rare livestock breeds. This includes heritage
breeds – animals descending from the original, ancestral genes of the
creatures.
So why is it important to help the survival of this livestock? These animal
breeds have survived for thousands of years – some from the origins of
the Americas and some dating as far back as the Roman Empire. They are extremely
adaptable, disease-free, worm-resistant and incredibly resilient – characteristics
that aren’t as important in today’s agricultural world of quick
growth and mass production. As selective breeding eliminates heritage breeds,
it also risks causing genetic issues: newer breeds of livestock could lack
important immunities. Preserving older genes in heritage breeds allows farmers
to breed back to fix deformities in the gene pool if necessary.
The rare breeds featured at the Oregon Zoo have their place in history – they
hark back to a time when Oregon was a vast agricultural center. These livestock
teach visitors about history, preservation and conservation.
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