Animal genetic resources for food and agriculture of animal genetic resources includes diversity at species, breed and within-breed level. Known are currently 8,800 different breeds of birds and mammals within 38 species used for food and agriculture. The main animal species used for food and agriculture production are cattle, sheep, goats, chickens and pigs. In the livestock world, these species are often referred to as "the big five". Some less-utilized species include the dromedary, donkey, bactrian camel, buffalo, guinea pig, horse, rabbit, yak, goose, duck, ostrich,partridge, pheasant, pigeon, and turkey. The history of animal genetic resources begins about 12,000 to 14,000 years ago. The domestication of major
The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture is a major report on the breeds of farm livestock in the world. It was published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 2007. It covers mammalian and avian domestic livestock breeds, but does not include fish or honey bees and other invertebrates. It is based on information submitted to the FAO, in the form of reports of participating countries, thematic studies prepared by experts and data on individual breeds submitted