New European Reference Centre for Endangered Animal Breeds established

From 1 January 2023, experts of Wageningen University & Research (WUR) will work together with IDELE (France) and BLE to advise the European Commission, national governments and breed organisations on sustainable breeding programmes for endangered farm animal breeds, as well as the implementation of EU breeding regulations. 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?.