The British Tropical -Agricultural Mission (BTAM) is a unit of the overseas Development Administration and consists of a group of eight to ten specialists in the fields of soil management, agronomy, plant protection, sociology, ecology, economics, animal production, pasture production and agro-forestry, working in a supportive and training capacity with the Bolivian Centro de Investigaci6n Agricola Tropical (CIAT), since its formation in 1976.

This paper describes the origin of one of the most recent Criollo cattle herds in Brazil (approximately 600 head). A description is given. of its zootechnical characteristics and habitat, where the herd is bred. It includes some results on weight at birth, development prior to weaning of heifer calves and weight fluctuation of cows in distinct periods of the year.

A conservation area in Jiangsu Province, China, has been established for the conservation of the Hu sheep, famous for its early sexual maturity and high reproductive rate as well as its beautifully patterned white-wool coat. Local farmers well experienced in raising these sheep are responsible for pure breeding under the control of-administrative and technical units which have been specially created for this purpose. The conservation area is in the main orange and loquat-growing district of the Province. Manure is used to fertilize the trees-and together with the production of meat from culled sheep and the sale of lambskins, the enterprise is economically viable.

All interspecific hybrids, both male and female, resulting from crosses between the wild sheep of- Cyprus (known locally as Aqrinon) and domesticated sheep breeds (Ovis aries), Cyprus Fat-tailed (CFT), Chios an Awassi, were found to be fertile.The chromosome complement of both species and of the hybrids was 2n=54. The survival.rate of hybrid lambs up to 105 days of age increased with a higher percentage of domesticated sheep inheritance. F2 hybrids had the lowest survival rate.

The birth weight of F1 and first backcross to domestic sheep (B,) lambs was higher than that of F2 and F1 × B1 lambs, but much lower thin that of domesticated sheep.

Most of the evidence available suggests that the wild sheep of Cyprus originates from either the European (ovis musimon) or the Asiatic' (Ovis orientalis) mouflon.

Genetic changes have taken place in the Spanish cattle population as a result of breed replacement and crossbreeding as well as from H61stein-Friesian strain influence. In the last 20 years interest in the Holstein (Canada, and the USA) has increased, so that the North American strain today contributes to a high percentage of the genes in the Spanish Friesian herd. It is not yet clear what effect the introduction of quotas will have on the breed and strain composition of the Spanish dairy population, but in view of the role that Friesian type animals play in beef production, any major change in milk price will affect the genetic make-up. Estimated percentages of Holstein genes (bull catalogue, bulls, genetic evaluation and utilized semen doses) are given.

On peut classer les races qui bénéficient d'une aide au titre de la conservation en trois categories:

a. Les races a très petits effectifs (TPE <1 000 femelles): programms de conservation génétique purs avec tr'es peu de selection possible. Inte'rgt scientifique en ce qui concerne dix races: Amoricaine, Auroise, Be'arnaise, Bretome Pie Noire, Ferrandaise, Froment du Leon, Lourdaise, mirandaise, Nantaise, et Villard de Lans.

b. Les races A petits effectifs (PE <1 000 <10 000 femlles): gestion I ne'tic ge jue stricte (maintien de la variabilite') et pression de sélection possibles. Inte‘r’et agricole local: Bazadaise, Bleue du Nord, Flamande, Parthenaise, et Vosgieme.

c. Les races re'gionales (>10 000 femelles): programmes de relance. Pression de sélection maintenue mais avec quelques amenagements dans les programes techniques. Aides importantes: Abondance, Aubrac,Gasconne à Muqueuses Noires, et Tarentaise.

Nous n'évoquerons ici que le travail réalisé pour les races des deux premiéres categories.

The Nordic Council of ministers decided in 1979 to finance a working party for coordinating the Nordic Animal-Gene Banks (NAGBs). This party has five members, one from each Nordic country and a part-time secretary. The working party has been in contact with several other researchers and institutions and is represented in the corresponding European working party. These links have provided possibilities for fruitful commication. on the initiative of the working party, the agricultural ministries reported on the national situation in their respective countries (maiiala et al., 1986). overall responsibility is considered as an official task. EacF- Kirnistry of Agriculture, in cooperation with other ministries, is responsible for animal conservation. That includes providing necessary investment funds and covering the operating expenses of gene banks.

The zebu population of Somalia includes four main types (Boran, Dawara,, Gasara and Surqo), which cannot be considered as breeds in the same sense as cattle in Europe. Boran, Dawara and Gasara are included in the type known as East African Shorthorned zebu, while the Surqo is regarded as an ancient stable mixture of zebu and Sanga (see Figure 1).

The task of identifying the genetic relationships existing among these types, within a rather heterogeneous population, could best be approached through the study of marker loci like thoseicontrolling the immmogenetic and biochemical polymorphic systems, rather than through the comparison of morphological traits.

Research was continued along these lines to facilitate the genetic characterization of Boran and Dawara types (Di Stasio et al., 1978.and 1980), and the study was extended to include the Surqo type ird-a comparison of the results.

Indigenous pigs of West Africa form the majority of the pig population in Nigeria. They are very precocious but have low prolificacy, a low growth rate and poor carcass characteristics. However, the ability to thrive on low-quality diets in stressful environments is quite remarkable. In recent years, there has been a steady decline in the indigenous pig population. Therefore, conservation of the germplasm of this valuable genetic resource is highly desirable.

Polish Red is the only indigenous cattle breed in Poland. Breeding was first started at the end of the 19th century. At the end of the 1960s the breed constituted more than 20 percent of the total cattle population in Poland. During the 1970s Polish Red cattle were superseded by Friesian,-and now there are about 200 000 cows left (i.e., 3 percent of the total population).

These dual-purpose (dairy-beef) animals are hardy and well adapted to rather poor feeding conditions. An improvement programme, through crossbreeding, would likely diminish their original characteristics. Therefore, together with breed improvement, a gene reserve in the form of a conservation herd of 300 cows and a gene bank of frozen semen and embryos have been implemented. A systematic breeding programme has been implemented also to maintain the old genotype and ensure wider genetic variation within the herd.

The Istrian breed of cattle, of the Yugoslavian peninsula of that name, is an endangered species. The Istrian breed is related to other Podolic breeds and research into its genetic relationships with other breeds, as well as its conservation through the establishment of open nucleus units, frozen embryo stocks and a semen bank is being undertaken.

The genetic value of ancient breeds of livestock is recognized increasingly all over the world. This seems especially important in the case of domestic fowl where hybrids are increasingly dominating everywhere. This paper describes some old Hungarian breeds.

Within the species of domestic fowl in Hungary the following breeds should be taken into consideration for preservation: the three colour variants white, yellow and speckled - of improved fowl, already classified as individual breeds called White Hungarian, Yellow Ijungarian and Speckled Hungarian, respectively. The white and speckled breeds both have a naked neck variety too The Transylvanian Naked Neck, although similar to the above variants, is oi different origin.