Population-Data Gaps and Conservation Priorities for Ukraine’s Indigenous Livestock Breeds: An Analysis of DAD-IS Records
Abstract
Conservation planning requires evidence about both the condition of livestock populations and the coverage of the records used to assess them. This study compares Ukraine’s country summaries in two FAO reports on the Domestic Animal Diversity Information System (DAD-IS) and interprets them using breed studies published by November 2022. Among the 68 breeds classified as local on 2 September 2022, 45 were at risk, 13 were not at risk and 10 had unknown status. The share at risk was 77.6% among the 58 breeds with a known classification. Holding those classifications fixed, the share at risk among all 68 breeds ranges from 66.2% to 80.9%, depending on the allocation of the 10 unknown cases. Since 3 February 2021, the number of local entries had risen from 62 to 68 while the number with known status had fallen from 60 to 58. Without linked breed records, the comparison cannot establish demographic recovery or decline. Field observations of Brown Carpathian cattle in 2019 show why an absence from breeding registers warrants follow-up with keepers. Genealogical evidence from Mirgorod pigs shows why surviving lineages matter when a major herd is lost. These examples support separate decisions about protection and verification. The first requires evidence of a threat to reproduction. The second identifies the missing observation most likely to change a conservation decision.
Edited online edition posted 1 November 2026.
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