FAO BREEDS DECLINE
April 1st, 2004
BY KEITH NUTHALLTHE UNITED Nations Food & Agricultural Organisation (FAO) has warned that the number of domesticated livestock breeds worldwide is declining sharply, with 1,350 of the roughly 6,300 FAO registered breeds threatened by extinction or already extinct. The problem has been discussed by a special FAO meeting of national coordinators on animal genetic resources, which is developing a global plan to halt their disappearance. Said Irene Hoffmann, FAO animal production chief: "The existing animal gene pool may contain valuable but unknown resources ...
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