chapter 6

discussion and conclusions

Left: Danish-Swedish Farmdog l Middle: Faroese sheep l Right: Gotlandsruss

The Nordic countries have officially cooperated on the conservation of farm animals' genetic diversity for 40 years, although individual national efforts began much earlier. The Nordic countries have mainly focused on maintaining live populations, while cryoconservation efforts have also been implemented in most Nordic countries to some degree. In situ conservation allows breeds to be visible and adapt to prevailing conditions rather than being merely in the depths of the gene bank. Over time, in situ conservation measures in the Nordic countries have become more professional and effective, though some populations have faced difficulties.

Most Nordic farm animal breeds have a small population size, where only 23 breeds can be classified as “not at risk”. Of the breeds, 144 are vulnerable, endangered, critically endangered or undetermined. Therefore, regular data collection and monitoring is crucial. One important tool that holds great potential for reporting and analysis of data is DAD-IS, hosted by the FAO. FAO has been collecting global data for animal genetic resources since 1982. The DAD-IS database was established in 1996. The database is regularly used to prepare various comprehensive global reports that provide valuable insights supporting internation policymaking and resource allocation beyond the scope of FAO.

Over the years, the use of DAD-IS in the Nordic countries has improved considerably. Of the Nordic breeds, 82% had at least one data entry, and 77% had updated population data from 2021 or later, indicating the importance of reporting and monitoring is getting widely recognized by the Nordic countries. Only 16% of the breeds either had no data or data older than 10 years. The DAD-IS database contains comprehensive information on all the Nordic breeds of sheep, cattle, horses, and goats, as well as up to 90% of poultry, pigeons, and rabbits. However, information concerning the poultry, pigeons, and rabbit breeds are scattered. Furthermore, only 52% of dogbreed is reported to have an increasing population trend in DAD-IS, but the numbers show a clear decline in numbers over the last 10 years (Supplementary 2). A clear definition to determine a population's trend could be positive to assess the true risk of a population and to put conservation measures in place to counteract a negative trend.

A population’s viability can also be assessed using parameters such as inbreeding rate and effective population size. These methods can be based on marker-based or pedigree-based methods. In this study we gathered inbreeding value for 91 of the Nordic breeds, while N_e estimates were found for 79 breeds from the literature or various breed association’s internet sites. Of the available estimates for inbreeding, genomics has been used for most of the breeds (43), pedigree methods were used for 33 of the breeds and 15 breeds had available information from both calculations. Based on the data analysis, relatively high inbreeding rates were detected in the Norsk Jærhøns (native Norwegian chicken breed), Íslenska geitin (Icelandic goat breed), Lundehund (Norwegian Puffin dog), and Fjordhest (Norwegian Fjordhorse) breeds. The inbreeding rate per generation (i.e. how fast inbreeding increases) affects the health of the population, which is why the development of informed and sufficient management strategies that take genetic variation into account is important to ensure sustainable populations.

The data entered into DAD-IS is defined by the national coordinator of each country. This has led to the use of different definitions for e.g., population size or number of breeding females between countries. I.e., some define the population as the number of females while other define it as the total number of animals. In some instances, changing definitions or information sources within a country have led to odd fluctuations of numbers within breeds over different years. It must be remembered that the quality of the data depends on the content providers and is not controlled by FAO. However, the introduction of common and specific definitions could improve quality and consistency.

The Global Action Plan for Animal Genetic Resources (FAO, 2007) emphasizes that both in situ and ex situ conservation measures should be implemented to ensure the future security of animal genetic resources. The Nordic countries have been at the forefront of this effort, since they introduced cryoconservation even before that - in the 1980s (Maijala, 2011). According to DAD-IS, Norway has the largest number of stored samples, followed by Finland and Sweden. From Denmark and the Faroe Island, no information was available in DAD-IS. However, in terms of different samples (embryo, somatic cells, oocytes, semen etc.) Finland has the largest distribution and is the only country that has stored DNA and embryos in addition to semen for their production animals. According to our analysis there is stored material from 78 Nordic breeds (both native and Nordic-transboundary). According to the FAO definition for risk status, 107 of the breeds are considered either endangered or critically endangered. 60 of these breeds have cryopreserved material stored in gene banks, while the remaining 47 do not.

Our investigation of DAD-IS data (extracted at the beginning of 2024) shows that most investments in cryoconservation have been made in cattle and sheep breeds. Based on the information nothing has been frozen from bees, cats, chickens, ducks, geese, pigeons or rabbits. Furthermore, the data also showed only 19 breeds with more than 50 semen donors with sufficient doses. In many breeds, semen samples have been collected from too few donors to ensure future genetic diversity. In addition, there is a significant lack of female genetic material (e.g., embryos, eggs, DNA, or somatic cells).

It is important to emphasize that, based on DAD-IS data, it is impossible to determine whether the numbers represent the total stored samples or only those collected in the reporting year, which makes it difficult to determine if the last entered data is in fact the total accumulated number of samples, or if all the entries should be added together. In addition, not all cryoconserved material is reported in DAD-IS.

While the data reported in DAD-IS has room for improvement, the data that is collected can give us a lot of important insights into the status of the Nordic breeds. It shows that there is a large diversity of breeds in the Nordic countries, with 167 different breeds in total over 14 species, where 82% of the breeds have at least one data entry in DAD-IS. The data is mostly complete for the traditional farm animal species: Cattle, sheep, and goats. The Nordic countries have a system for collecting population data for many breeds and species, and there are measures taken for both in situ and ex situ conservation. Important stories depicting successful strategies for conservation in each of the countries are presented in section 5. These stories directly illustrate how impactful conservation efforts have been during the last 40 years.

Key findings

The Nordic countries have been working to secure their animal genetic resources for at least 40 years, both individually and collaboratively. As a result, 167 native breeds still exist in the Nordic countries. These breeds are important for the biodiversity of domestic animals both in the Nordic region and globally.
Conservation work continues to be important as 35 of these 167 breeds are classified as at critical risk of extinction and only 23 breeds are not at risk of extinction.
Currently, 35% of the breeds show an increasing or stable trend, 15% are decreasing, and for 50% of the Nordic breeds, the population trend was not determined.
Conservation efforts in the Nordic countries have developed positively over the decades, with an increasing emphasis on utilizing both in situ and ex situ conservation strategies as they complement each other.
These efforts have led to the successful maintenance and improved status of many breeds found in the region (e.g., the Lundehund, Icelandic goat, and many different Nordic cattle breeds).
Recognition of the value of the Nordic breeds have led to increased interest in keeping the breeds.
Characterisation studies have provided important information and revealed future possibilities of creating local niche products and activities.
Continuous monitoring of population statistics such as the number of breeding animals and number of offspring born annually remain important to determine the development of the breeds. The parameter of number of breeding females have been and continues to be an important indicator for risk status in conservation.
The systematic follow-up routines initiated in Norway (i.e., the cow register, key figures from the Norwegian Genetic Resource Centre) during the past decade have proven a solid foundation for more professional maintenance of native breeds, serving as a best practice in the sector.
Practical tools for improved breeding selection and inbreeding control such as EVA have been important for monitoring and improving genetic variation within populations.
Monitoring and updating estimations of population inbreeding and genetic variation is essential for understanding the genetic soundness of the population and important for evaluating breeding strategies.
The DAD-IS database, hosted by the FAO, holds great potential for reporting data concerning breeds globally. While there is room for improvement in data management practices from the countries, the use of the database has become significantly more efficient in recent years. Today, DAD-IS contains information about 82% of the Nordic breeds, and 77% of the breeds have updated population data from 2021 or later.
Not all reporting criteria in DAD-IS are currently defined and can therefore vary depending on the person entering the data. This influences the comprehensiveness and further the comparability of data between countries and even within and between breeds. Uniform and transparent reporting criteria across countries would enhance regional evaluations.
There are benefits to be gained by supplementing the missing information, as the necessary conservation measures related to the breeds are unlikely to be successful without the relevant reporting. Information gaps may distort general overviews and can influence decision-making.
FAO recommends that endangered breeds should be prioritized in gene banking activities. Continuous improvements with techniques and infrastructure for collecting and freezing reproductive tissue such as semen and epididymal sperm has made cryopreservation cheaper and more feasible for several breeds. Other methods such as collecting and storing tissue samples also provide useful alternatives for breeds where the infrastructure for reproductive tissue has not yet been optimised.
Of the endangered and critically endangered breeds, up to 57 % have cryoconserved material in a gene bank. Efforts for cryoconservation in the Nordics have mainly focused on cattle and sheep breeds.
Of the cryoconserved samples reported to DAD-IS, 99,87% are male reproductive material (semen/sperm).
Cryopreserved samples have been collected from too few donors in many breeds to ensure future genetic diversity. 19 of the breeds in the gene banks have enough donors and doses, i.e., 11.5% of the Nordic breeds are safe.
Future challenges include many factors, such as climate change and social interest (e.g., consumer preferences), that can influence the possibility for small scale farming opportunities. Loss of genetic variation is also an important challenge because most of the Nordic breeds have small population sizes.