The Standing Zootechnical Committee of EU DG SANTE approved the European Commission’s proposal to establish an EU Reference Centre for Endangered Animal Breeds (EURC-EAB) on October 3 , 2022. In this new EU Reference Centre, WUR will be working alongside IDELE (Institut de l’Élevage, France) and BLE (Federal Office for Agriculture and Food, Germany). Sipke-Joost Hiemstra (Wageningen Livestock Research/ Centre for Genetic Resources, the Netherlands ) has been appointed Director.
The EURC-EAB will collaborate closely with the European Regional Focal Point for Animal Genetic Resources (ERFP) . ERFP is the European network of National Coordinators, who are responsible for the coordination of the conservation and sustainable use of animal genetic resources at national level.
What will be the task of the EURC-EAB?
EURC-EAB will provide scientific and technical advice to the European Commission aimed at establishing and harmonising methods for the conservation of endangered breeds, as well as the preservation of genetic diversity within these breeds. This includes the breeding of cattle, pigs, sheep, goats and horses. The EURC-EAB will also support governments and breed organisations in the implementation and further development of European breeding regulations (EU 2016/1012).Hiemstra: "Effective breeding programmes are very important for maintaining the variety of rare farm animal breeds in Europe. This is how we maintain genetic diversity within the breeds and thus ensure that these breeds remain usable in the future."
To explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life.