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 endangerment, 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 endangerment was taken from the register of breeds with the zoo-technical evaluation.

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 2024, Slovenia one race and 393 different breeds of traditional and locally adapted, indigenous and introduced domestic animals were bred, namely 16 breeds of horses, 28 breeds of cattle, 7 pig breeds, 10 sheep breeds, 5 goat breeds, 51 hen breeds, 9 turkey breeds, 15 duck breeds, 13 geese breeds, 50 breeds and 2 lines of rabbits, 186 breeds of dogs, and the Carniolan bee race. Among them, only 15 were indigenous and 14 traditional breeds and 1 endangered unspecified breed, while others (362) were introduced. The highest number of foreign breeds and lines is found in dogs (185), rabbits (52), hens (46), and cattle (24). Even among the numerous foreign breeds, at least 18 breeds, 2 lines of rabbits, 10 horse breeds, and 2 pig breeds are endangered, for which Slovenian selection is being carried out. In addition to the previously mentioned domestic animals, we also bred 1 indigenous breed and 185 foreign breeds of dogs.

The endangerment level of locally adapted breeds is high and increasing. 13 out of a total of 14 traditional breeds are endangered. The endangered traditional breeds include 4 breeds of hens, 3 breeds of pig, 2 breeds of goats and 2 horse breeds. The level of endangerment of indigenous breeds is equally serious. Out of 15 indigenous breeds of domestic animals, 14 were endangered in 2024: 5 sheep breeds, 4 breeds of horses, and one breed of hens, cattle, pigs and goats each. The only indigenous breed of dogs is endangered as well. The breeds and races where the adaptation to natural conditions is the strongest are the most successful with defining the introduced breeds. Among indigenous domestic animals, only the Carniolan bee is not endangered, while the endangerment assessment for the Jezersko-Solčava sheep and the Improved Jezersko-Solčava sheep has worsened in recent years.

An improvement in the endangerment assessment was recorded for the Karst Shepherd and the traditional Improved Bovec sheep. Directed breeding work and support for breeding animals are crucial for the conservation of endangered indigenous breeds. 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 2024, Slovenia had 15 indigenous breeds and one race of domestic animals, namely 5 breeds of sheep (11,073 animals), 4 breeds of horses (3,004 animals), and one breed each of cattle (2,794 animals), hens (643 animals), goats (690 animals), and pigs (1,074 animals), and the Carniolan bee race.

In the 2019-2024 period, the number of indigenous domestic animals increased for cattle (+44%), goats (+52%), horses (+21%), and sheep (+21%), and decreased for the population of the Bosnian Mountain Horse (-79%), Styrian Hen (-31%), Krškopolje Pig (-19%), Bela krajina Pramenka sheep (-10%), and Bovec sheep (-2%). In 2024, the highest number of indigenous domestic animal breeders bred the Cika cattle breed (436), while the lowest number bred the Istrian Pramenka sheep (8) and the Styrian Hen (8).

The number of breeders of indigenous breeds increased the most in the 2019-2024 period for the Bosnian Mountain Horse, by 100% (from 6 to 12 breeders), and the Drežnica Goat by 88% (from 24 to 45 breeders). Interest in breeding the indigenous Posavje Horse breed increased by 61% (from 101 to 163 breeders), as did the number of Istrian Pramenka breeders, by 60% (from 5 to 8 breeders). The number of Cika cattle breeders also increased by 41% (from 310 to 436 breeders), Lipizzan horse by 27% (from 48 to 61 breeders), and the Slovene Cold-blooded horse by 26% (from 184 to 231 breeders). An increase was also recorded for the Jezersko-Solčava sheep, by 9% (from 93 to 101 breeders), while the total number of sheep breeders increased by 3%.

On the other hand, a decline was recorded for several breeds. A slight decrease of 1% was seen in the Improved Jezersko-Solčava sheep (from 68 to 67 breeders). The number of Bela Krajina Pramenka breeders fell by 5% (from 19 to 18 breeders), and Bovec sheep breeders by 15% (from 20 to 17 breeders). A decline was also recorded for the Krškopolje Pig, by 25% (from 55 to 41 breeders). The largest decline was recorded for the Styrian Hen, where the number of breeders decreased by 43% (from 14 to 8 breeders). The small number of breeders for an individual breed represents 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 2023, there were more than 11,000 beekeepers that had 207,799 bee colonies in more than 12,000 apiaries.

In cattle breeding, which is the most important livestock industry, the number of inseminations with bulls of the traditional breeds like Simmental and Brown Swiss even more are declining rapidly, and the number of inseminations with the introduced Holstein breed and introduced beef breeds is increasing. Between 2000 and 2024, the number of first insemination with Brown Swiss bulls has decreased by 83% and Simmental bulls by 58%. The number of first inseminations with Holstein bulls increased by 9 % since the year 2000.

An example of successful breeding work is the Cika cattle breed where the number of first inseminations of breeding cows increased 68-fold from 1991 to 2024, although their share is stil around 1%. Another example of successful breeding work is the breed of krškopolje pig whose population grew 4-fold from 2004 to 2024.

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.