KAZALCI OKOLJA

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In Slovenia, the breeding of indigenous domestic animals is becoming less attractive, and out of 12 indigenous breed 11 are endangered. The Carniolan honey bee being the only exception. Eleven out of 14 traditional breeds is also endangered. The share of introduced animal breeds and cross-breeds with introduced breeds has been increasing. The breeds and races where the adaptation to natural conditions is the strongest are the most successful with defying the introduced breeds.


This indicator shows breeds and races of domestic animals, trends in the number of animals and breeders who applied for agri-environmental payments - breeding of indigenous and traditional breeds of farm animals, and the distribution of breeds to indigenous, traditional and introduced. The situation in cattle is presented by the number of first inseminations by bulls of particular breeds, which is a good indicator of the number of breeding females, and the use of breeding males. Regarding the origin, the breeds and races of domestic animals were divided into native, traditional and introduced, and regarding endangerness, the species were divided into endangered and non-endangered.

The indigenous domestic animals are breeds which developed in the territory of Slovenia. Carniolan bee (Apis mellifera carnica) is also an indigenous race. Indigenous breeds are defined in the Livestock-Breeding Act which sets out the procedure for their recognition. Traditional breeds are breeds of domestic animals which have adapted to climate and other conditions of a certain area. In the Republic of Slovenia, traditional breeds are those under continuous breeding and under selection supervision for at least fifty years in case of horses, donkeys or cattle, or thirty years for other species. Introduced breeds have developed elsewhere and have not yet adapted to climate and other conditions of Slovenia, or are not under continuous breeding and selection supervision for at least fifty years in case of horses, donkeys or cattle, or thirty years for other species. The level of endangerness was taken from the register of breeds with the zoo-technical evaluation.


Charts

Figure KM16-1: The number of breeds and race by individual species of domestic animals in 2018
Sources:

Public service tasks of gene bank in animal husbandry, 2019; Central cattle breeding database, 2019; The State of Farm Animal Genetic Resources in Slovenia, 2003

Show data
The number of breeds and race by individual species of domestic animals in 2018
Indigenous – total [number] Indigenous – endangered [number] Traditional – total [number] Traditional – endangered [number] Exotic – total Exotic– endangered [number] Unspecified - total Unspecified - endangered Total
Chicken 1 1 4 4 53 nd 0 0 58
Rabbits 0 0 0 0 52 2 0 0 52
Cattle 1 1 2 0 22 nd 1 1 26
Horses 3 3 2 1 6 1 1 1 12
Ducks 0 0 0 0 14 nd 0 0 14
Geese 0 0 0 0 9 nd 0 0 9
Sheep 4 4 1 1 0 0 1 1 6
Pigs 1 1 3 3 1 1 0 0 5
Goats 1 1 2 2 1 0 0 0 4
Turkeys 0 0 0 0 3 nd 0 0 3
Bees 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Dogs 1 1 nd nd nd nd 0 0 nd
Figure KM16-2: Indigenous breeds of domestic animals, the number of breeders who applied for agri-environmental payments - breeding of indigenous and traditional breeds of domestic animals
Sources:

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food; Agency of the Republic of Slovenia for Agricultural Markets and Rural Development, 2019

Show data
Indigenous breeds of domestic animals, the number of breeders who applied for agri-environmental payments - breeding of indigen
Styrian hen [No. of breeders] Drežnica goat [No. of breeders] Bovec sheep [No. of breeders] Istrian Pramenka [No. of breeders] Bela Krajina Pramenka [No. of breeders] Jezersko-Solčava sheep [No. of breeders] Sheep – total [No. of breeders] Krškopolje pig [No. of breeders] Cika cattle [No. of breeders] Posavje horse [No. of breeders] Slovenian Cold blood horse [No. of breeders] Lipizzan horse [No. of breeders] Horses – total [No. of breeders]
2004 9 16 23 5 17 122 167 30 189 123 589 87 799
2005 5 19 26 5 21 119 171 46 220 148 647 81 876
2006 3 19 28 5 21 115 169 47 237 151 648 80 879
2007 3 17 26 5 22 139 192 51 237 163 636 85 884
2008 2 17 25 4 18 136 183 48 226 161 616 83 860
2009 0 14 20 4 15 125 164 34 186 136 464 69 669
2010 1 13 18 5 13 124 160 32 176 121 378 55 554
2011 0 13 18 6 13 125 162 30 170 117 370 54 541
2012 0 14 18 3 13 102 136 35 178 89 287 47 423
2013 0 15 19 4 15 98 136 32 196 98 305 51 454
2014 0 15 18 3 14 102 137 34 223 97 287 51 435
2015 5 15 16 3 13 78 110 33 201 72 153 41 266
2016 7 17 16 3 17 93 129 50 259 89 189 47 325
2017 7 18 18 3 18 93 132 48 256 90 181 45 316
2018 8 20 20 3 18 94 135 47 257 45 179 91 315
2019 14 24 20 5 20 95 140 58 312 101 184 48 333
Figure KM16-3: Indigenous breeds of domestic animals, the number of breeding animals for which breeders have applied for agri-environmental payments - breeding of indigenous and traditional breeds of domestic animals
Sources:

Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food; Agency of the Republic of Slovenia for Agricultural Markets and Rural Development, 2019

Show data
The number of breeding animals for which breeders have applied for agri-environmental payments - indig. and tradit. breeds
Styrian hen [No. of animals] Drežnica goat [No. of animals] Bovec sheep [No. of animals] Istrian Pramenka [No. of animals] Bela Krajina Pramenka [No. of animals] Jezersko-Solčava sheep [No. of animals] Sheep – total [No. of animals] Krškopolje pig [No. of animals] Cika cattle [No. of animals] Posavje horse [No. of animals] Slovenian Cold blood horse [No. of animals] Lipizzan horse [No. of animals] Horses – total [No. of animals]
2004 410 210 1353 661 439 3828 6281 292 434 368 1520 504 2392
2005 345 282 1531 602 587 4164 6884 487 535 441 1854 542 2837
2006 492 255 1681 802 614 4133 7230 489 650 488 2009 608 3105
2007 752 279 1506 731 668 4868 7773 592 784 536 2022 602 3160
2008 360 288 1543 752 588 4810 7693 566 829 567 2053 587 3207
2009 0 242 1480 696 447 4546 7169 430 770 525 1683 569 2777
2010 100 242 1505 667 430 4622 7224 459 780 513 1512 554 2579
2011 0 247 1475 643 443 4672 7233 404 756 530 1495 526 2551
2012 0 255 1608 542 406 3855 6411 471 905 492 1282 517 2291
2013 0 284 1622 590 421 3730 6363 399 934 536 1301 535 2372
2014 0 292 1614 585 469 3595 6263 585 1054 548 1248 536 2332
2015 418 333 1521 565 385 2956 5427 630 1086 470 777 504 1751
2016 601 372 1635 662 503 3275 6075 983 1451 617 992 539 2148
2017 581 395 1782 655 528 3408 6373 1004 1569 656 1008 519 2183
2018 711 410 1870 655 532 3385 6442 1058 1626 533 993 660 2186
2019 929 457 1864 686 553 3486 6589 1365 1993 734 1035 567 2336
Figure KM16-4: The number of first insemination of breeding females by individual breed of bulls by years
Sources:

Central cattle breeding database, Results of Dairy and Beef Recording, 2018

Show data
The number of first insemination of breeding females by individual breed of bulls by years
Simmental [number] Brown Swiss [number] Holstein [number] Charolais [number] Limousine [number] Belgian Blue and White [number] Cika [number] Other [number] Total [number]
1967 94915 67823 4712 nd nd nd 1405 505 169360
1972 108313 66690 8889 nd nd nd 1581 107 185580
1975 106482 68305 11282 697 3407 nd 1282 27 191482
1980 113077 63199 16646 7853 5770 nd 423 nd 206968
1985 126521 73505 20103 4700 2164 nd 160 nd 227153
1990 116642 56262 22672 3955 3481 nd 42 nd 203054
1991 118773 55461 23227 3502 3215 nd 16 nd 204194
1995 119260 45079 25468 4650 5784 123 170 nd 200534
1998 121796 35676 27422 4463 11165 909 350 53 201834
1999 120353 32514 28697 3328 11080 3614 317 105 200008
2000 113827 29338 33257 2689 11564 6432 359 18 197484
2001 112161 27682 35410 2638 12727 7275 417 4 198314
2002 107764 24849 36409 2493 12703 7663 465 3 192349
2003 105512 22130 34784 2426 13374 7714 558 3 186501
2004 103030 19562 34283 2594 13551 8536 546 3 182105
2005 100651 17801 34555 2385 14001 7971 642 58 178064
2006 96601 16368 36355 2645 14042 6720 749 194 173674
2007 93295 15827 37387 2383 13894 5539 795 345 169465
2008 91713 15173 38716 2026 12251 4186 739 379 165183
2009 89740 14237 38553 2161 12101 3754 774 303 161623
2010 86919 13606 39561 2026 12515 3561 780 411 159379
2011 85048 12983 40594 2049 11976 3471 802 554 157477
2012 80896 12177 40476 2203 11541 2927 838 656 151714
2013 76311 10802 39634 1780 11577 2737 930 738 144509
2014 76633 10354 41053 1873 11737 2599 1001 929 146179
2015 76214 9952 42160 1861 12216 2724 1118 1044 147289
2016 72929 9021 40247 1759 13500 2721 1150 1474 142801
2016 66846 8112 38749 1643 12647 2406 1127 1658 133188
2018 63862 7761 38645 1446 13051 2155 1048 1936 129904
Figure KM16-5: The number of first insemination of breeding females with bulls of Cika breed by years
Sources:

Central cattle breeding database, Results of Dairy and Beef Recording, 2018

Show data
The number of first insemination of breeding females with bulls of Cika breed by years
Cika breed [number]
1967 1405
1972 1581
1975 1282
1980 423
1985 160
1990 42
1991 16
1995 170
1998 350
1999 317
2000 359
2001 417
2002 465
2003 558
2004 546
2005 642
2006 749
2007 795
2008 739
2009 774
2010 780
2011 802
2012 838
2013 930
2014 1001
2015 1118
2016 1150
2016 1127
2018 1048

Goals

  • preserve, to the highest extent possible, the biological diversity in animal husbandry which is the basis for the food production, conservation of landscape diversity and stable income of farms
  • special care must be paid to locally adapted breeds and races, i.e. to indigenous and the traditional ones.

Breeds of domestic animals are part of the natural and cultural heritage. In 1996, Slovenia ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity (Rio de Janeiro, 1992), with an aim to significantly reduce the rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national levels. Special care must be paid to locally adapted breeds, namely the indigenous and the traditional ones.

Due to the strong competitiveness in a global market of livestock products, the breeding of indigenous and traditional breeds of cattle, pigs and poultry is becoming less attractive. The most interesting breeds on global level present an additional pressure. In Slovenia, the share of introduced animal breeds and their cross-breeds has been constantly increasing. In addition, the locally adapted traditional breeds are strongly influenced by the use of breeding material from other populations. The genes for the currently most interesting commercial properties are being introduced, and therefore the traditional breeds are losing the adjustment to local conditions.

In 2018, Slovenia one race and 190 different breeds of traditional and locally adapted, indigenous and introduced domestic animals were bred, namely 12 breeds of horses, 26 breeds of cattle, 5 pig breeds, 6 sheep breeds, 4 goat breeds, 58 hen breeds, 3 turkey breeds, 14 duck breeds, 9 geese breeds, 50 breeds and 2 lines of rabbits and a race of Carniolan bee. Among them, only 12 were indigenous and 14 traditional breeds and 3 endangered unspecified breeds, while others (161) were introduced. Most introduced breeds and lines we find with hens (53), rabbits (52) and cattle (22). There are at least 4 endangered breeds even among introduced breeds, – 2 lines of rabbits, 1 horse breed and 1 breed of pigs where the Slovenian selection is being carried out. One indigenous and numerous introduced breeds of dogs are also bred.

The level of endangerness of locally adapted breeds is high. 11 out of 14 traditional breeds are endangered. The endangered traditional breeds include 4 breeds of hens, 3 breeds of pig, 2 breeds of goats, 1 horse breed and 1 sheep breed. The level of endangerness of indigenous breeds is even higher. Out of 12 indigenous breeds of domestic animals, 11 were endangered in 2018 – 4 sheep breeds, 3 breeds of horses, and one breed of hens, cattle, pigs and goats each. The only indigenous breed of dogs is engangered as well. The breeds and races where the adaptation to natural conditions is the strongest are the most successful with defying the introduced breeds. Carniolan bee is the only unendangered indigenous breed. Jezersko-Solčava sheep breed has become endangered. The conservation of endangered native breeds requires careful breeding and financial support to the breeders of breeding animals. The turning point was the year 1991, when a gene bank was set up, and the professional services joined their efforts to preserve indigenous breeds. Even more important was the set-up of the breeding organizations which connected the farmers and supporters of individual breeds.

The trends and the number of breeders and indigenous breeds of farm animals were estimated on the basis of applications for agri-environmental payments - breeding of indigenous and traditional breeds of domestic animals. In 2019, Slovenia had 11 indigenous breeds and one race of domestic animals, namely 4 breeds of sheep (6,589 animals), 3 breeds of horses (2,336 animals), and one breed of cattle (1,993 animals), hens (929 animals), goats (457 animals), pigs (1,365 animals), and the race of Carniolan bee. In the period 2008-2019, the number of indigenous farm animal breeds increased by 158% in hens, 141% in pigs, 140% in cattle and 59% in goats. The number of animals decreased by 27% in horses and 14% in sheep. In 2019 Cika cattle breed had the highest number of breeders (312), while only 5 breeders bred Istrian Pramenka sheep. The number of breeders in the period 2008-2019 decreased, mostly for Slovenian Cold blood horse (-70%) At the same time, there was an increase of interest in breeding the indigenous breed - Styria hen - from 2 breeders in 2008 to 14 breeders in 2019. The small number of breeders poses one of the greatest risks of losing the breed.

Slovenia is the original area of the Carniolan bee race. The Carniolan bee is not endangered, but we strive to preserve its original shape. In period from 2017-2019, there were more than 10,000 beekeepers that had 167,000 bee colonies in 2016.

In cattle breeding, which is the most important livestock industry, the number of inseminations with bulls of the traditional breeds Simmental and more Brown Swiss race is rapidly declining, and the number of inseminations with the introduced Holstein breed and introduced beef breeds is increasing. Between 1991 and 2018, the number of first insemination with Brown Swiss bulls has decreased by 73% and Simmental breed by 46%

An example of a successful breeding work is the Cika cattle breed where the number of first insemination of breeding cows increased 65 times from 1991 to 2018, but their share is still less than 1%.

The intensified professional work for the conservation of domestic animals breeds and the set-up of gene banks and breeders' organizations have generally improved the situation of endangered breeds, or at least not deteriorated as rapidly as before. On the other hand, the situation is worse in the case of traditional breeds not enjoying any special protection scheme. Some of them are not able to defy the pressure of more competitive breeds, therefore their number is decreasing.


Methodology

Date of data source summarization