The birth of a female Vaynol calf through the first-ever successful embryo transfer for a semi-feral breed of cattle has brought new hope in the work to save one of the UK’s rarest native livestock breeds.
The calf, which is called Snow – was born close to Edinburgh on January 6, as the result of a conservation project delivered by Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) and animal breeding specialists AB Europe.
The calf’s birth is an important step in saving the genetic line of a rare Vaynol cow, which had struggled to reproduce.
Vaynol embryos were implanted in recipient Angus cows. However, it’s not the first time embryo transfer has been used for a rare breed.
New hope for one of rarest breeds of UK native livestock
3 February 2021 |
The Vaynol is one of only five cattle breeds given ‘critical’ status on the RBST Watchlist
The birth of a female Vaynol calf through embryo transfer has brought new hope in the work to save one of the rarest UK livestock breeds.
The calf, called Snow for her white colouring and the conditions at the time of her birth near Edinburgh on 6 January, was born thanks to a cutting-edge conservation project.
Vaynol embryos were implanted in recipient Angus cows in a method that is mostly used commercially with beef and dairy cattle and has been used previously for conservation of rare Gloucester cattle.
Calf born through embryo transfer gives hope to rare semi-wild cattle breed
Updated: 03/02/2021, 1:50 pm
The Vaynol calf Snow provides hope for the rare breed (Gavin Tait/AB Europe/PA)
The successful birth of a female “Vaynol” calf through embryo transfer has boosted efforts to save one UK’s rarest native cattle breeds, conservationists said.
The calf, called Snow for her white colouring and the conditions at the time of her birth near Edinburgh on January 6, was born through the first successful embryo transfer for a semi-wild cattle breed.
Vaynol cattle are descended from ancient herds of white cattle, which were brought over to Britain when it was still connected to Europe by land and were in the country before Stonehenge was built.