Farm Animal Breeds Going Extinct

More than a thousand breeds of farm animals are at risk of going extinct.
That’s according to a new report from the United Nations. Rebecca Williams
reports the UN says globalization is the main reason for the extinctions:

Transcript

More than a thousand breeds of farm animals are at risk of going
extinct. That’s according to a new report from the United Nations.
Rebecca Williams reports the UN says globalization is the main
reason for the extinctions:


Some livestock breeds aren’t being raised as much anymore. That’s
because most farmers only want the breeds that can produce a lot of
meat in a short period of time. Fewer breeds means a smaller genetic
pool. So the whole population of livestock isn’t as robust.


Irene Hoffman is with the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.
She says a larger gene pool protects livestock from things such as new
diseases.


Hoffman says consumers have a large role in keeping breeds alive.


“The first strategy is always to keep animals in production to keep
them economically competitive.”


But it can be hard for consumers to find these rare breeds. It takes
extra effort.


The report says in just the past 15 years, 190 livestock breeds have
gone extinct.


For the Environment Report, I’m Rebecca Williams.