Rare Breeds Canada (RBC) is a Canadian
non-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
organization dedicated to preserving
rare breeds of Canadian
livestock
Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...
. The organization was founded in 1987. It focuses on the rare breeds of livestock originating in Canada, including varieties of horses, sheep, pigs, chickens and cows. RBC publishes a Rare Breeds Priority List that separates livestock breeds into "critical", "endangered", "vulnerable", "at risk" and "recovering" categories. To assist with the preservation of these breeds, RBC coordinates a breeding program which uses host farms to manage small breeding groups which are used to build new flocks of animals. As the new groups are created, animals are selected for breeding and moved to new host farms, where the process is repeated. With the continuous selection of breeding stock and expansion of the host farm program, the goal is to prevent rare livestock breeds, especially those native to Canada, from going extinct. RBC works closely with
The Livestock Conservancy
The Livestock Conservancy, formerly known as the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) and prior to that, the American Minor Breeds Conservancy, is a nonprofit organization focused on preserving and promoting rare breeds, also known as "h ...
, a similar organization in the United States, to preserve and promote breeds that have populations in the US and Canada.
In June 2011, RBC moved their head offices to
Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot,
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
.
See also
*
Seeds of Diversity Seed of Diversity, Semences du patrimoine, is a Canadian charitable organization that aims to "search out, preserve, perpetuate, study, and encourage the cultivation of heirloom and endangered varieties of food crops", particularly Canadian plants, ...
, a Canadian organization dedicated to preserving crop plants and pollinating insects
References
External links
Rare Breeds Canada official website
Non-profit organizations based in Manitoba
Agricultural organizations based in Manitoba
Rare breed conservation
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