Rare Breeds Canada Rare Breeds Canada Rare Breeds Canada (RBC) is a Canadian non-profit organization dedicated to preserving rare breeds of Canadian livestock. 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
Animal genetic resources for food and agriculture animal genetic resources. In 2009, six years after the completion of the human genome project, cattle became one of the first livestock species to have a fully mapped genome. Some general conclusions from recent molecular studies show that individual breeds only differ by typically 40% in total genetic molecular composition; species differ by about 80% of their genetic material. Additionally, breeds with well-defined and appreciated traits tend to be inbred and have low genetic diversity, while non-descript local populations tend to have high molecular genetic diversity. Characterization of animal genetic resources is a prerequisite for its management. Advances in molecular