EXPERTISE

Conservation

AURIVA’s DNA is made up of a plurality of breeds and territories. While the number of livestock is shrinking, several so-called “small breeds” are the focus of specific conservation programs.

Why commit to the conservation of small breeds?

In order to avoid genetic drift, excessive inbreeding or simply the disappearance of these breeds in the short or medium term, AURIVA has made a commitment to the Institut de l’Elevage and to breeding organizations to participate in the conservation of these species.

By entering, collecting, quality-controlling and storing semen from males identified as “traditional” within these small breeds, we contribute to serving all breeders in our area.

While the conservation of these breeds is of immediate interest in enabling the breeders concerned to maintain high-performance herds, it also has several scientific interests* :

Genetic diversity and the potential responses of these breeds to new challenges (disease, environment, etc.).
Don’t mortgage the future by assuming that a breed of little commercial interest today will always remain so.
Potentially introduce genetic diversity into market-dominant breeds that may be tending towards uniformity

*L’amélioration génétique animale, Gérald Wiener, Roger Rouvier, Quae Cta Presse agronomiques de Gembloux, 2009