The Red List of endangered livestock breeds published by the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE) shows that 58 of the 81 indigenous livestock breeds of horse, cattle, pig, sheep and goat are categorised as endangered. The utilisation of endangered breeds in agriculture, forestry and landscape conservation is considered to be the most sustainable way of preserving these breeds. This is referred to as "in-situ" or "on-site" conservation, in which the breeds are preserved according to the motto "conservation through utilisation".

In order to support this conservation strategy, the federal states have the option of paying subsidies to breeders for breeding animals of endangered native breeds. This is usually done on the basis of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). Subsidies such as these make the breeding of the comparatively less productive endangered breeds interesting for many farms and contribute significantly to the preservation of the breeds.

In Hesse, 18 endangered indigenous breeds of large farm animals (horses, cattle, pigs, sheep and goats) are now eligible for funding following the update of the funding guideline. Originally, only five breeds, the Rote Höhenvieh, the Deutsche Schwarzbunte Niederungsrind, the Coburger Fuchsschaf, the Rhönschaf and the Weiße Deutsche Edelziege, were listed in the guideline. These and the 13 newly added breeds can be found in the updated funding guidelines on the homepage of the Hessian agri-environmental programme of the Hessian Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, Viticulture, Forestry, Hunting and Homeland.

Further links

Find out more about our native and endangered livestock breeds and the support programmes of the individual federal states.