RBCSNZ Registration Scheme
and Rare Breeds Inventory
The objects of the Rare Breeds Conservation Society, as documented in its Constitution, include “periodically conducting a census of surviving stocks of interest to the Society” and “where appropriate providing registration facilities”. Meeting this object requires the assistance of members of the Society and others to provide the information.
Registration
 Registering Hokonui sheep, Southland (Photo courtesy Ross Fraser) |
A registration scheme has been set up to register other New Zealand breeds that do not have their own breed registries and other breeds that are not represented by a breed society or registry here. Currently, inspection of the animals is not required, but each animal must have individual identification, and the owner must be able to provide the provenance of the animals. There is currently no cost for registration, but the owner must be a member of the Rare Breeds Conservation Society.
The breeds currently included are :
- Arapawa sheep
- Awassi sheep
- Hokonui sheep*
- Enderby cattle
- Lakenvelder cattle
- Enderby rabbits
- Pinzgauer cattle
- Riggit Galloway cattle
If you have animals of these breeds, please contact the Secretary to request a registration form. Owners of registered animals will be sent an annual update form to supply birth and death information. Offspring of registered parents will be added to the register. However, it is up to the breeder to keep accurate breeding and identification records for the offspring, and supply correct parentage information.
*Registration of Hokonui sheep is available through the Southland section. This has been successful in so far having over 90 sheep inspected and registered in four flocks. If you are interested in registering your Hokonui sheep, please contact the Secretary.
The Rare Breeds Inventory continues to operate as a database of the numbers of breeding animals of all rare and minority breeds of livestock, including poultry, whether registered with a breed registry or not. It is of particular importance to record rare breed animals that are not registered with any body, to ensure that the full picture of the breed’s numbers and distribution is captured. This could be particularly vital in the event of a disease outbreak requiring culling of animals, to assess the extent of likely losses and potentially aid protection of vulnerable populations.
A survey return form can be downloaded in Word .doc format or if preferred, in .pdf format. Please print out the form, fill in the details of any animals that you have, and post it to the address on the form. We would like to encourage any non-members who have rare breeds livestock or poultry to include their animals in the database as well, to try and capture as much information about populations of rare breeds as possible. We would urge you to pass copies of the inventory form on to anyone else you know with rare breeds, or contact the Secretary to arrange for copies to be sent to them. All inventory information is confidential, unless you grant permission to share your information with other parties.
Please note that listing your animals in the Inventory does not constitute registration with the Society. To register animals of any of the breeds noted above, please contact the Secretary.
