Farming and Agricultural Technology
COOPERATIVE AND GOVERNMENTAL PROMOTION OF ANIMAL BREEDING
In most countries in which animal breeding has reached a fairly
high level, associations were formed long ago (beginning in
Great Britain in the late 18th century) with the aim of promoting
the development of existing breeds. At first the primary objectives
of breeders' associations were to publish herdbooks and to lay
down rules for registration of "purebred" animals, to arrange
shows and fairs, and to work for the dissemination of the breeds
at home and abroad. Later, these associations started performance
testing or worked in close cooperation with other organizations
developed for this purpose. In European cattle breeding there
is a trend toward concentration into one organization of the
various activities, such as performance and progeny testing,
artificial insemination, and other services, among which herdbook
registration may be only a minor detail. A similar trend has
appeared also in the breeding of sheep, pigs, and fur animals.
With regard to the breeding of animals for sport or as pets,
traditional breeders' associations are, and probably will continue
to be, of great importance.
Scientific research has been the foundation, and education
the impelling force, in the accelerated development of animal
breeding in the 20th century. Specialized research institutes
and experimental stations, with cooperating agricultural colleges
and extension divisions, have arisen in almost every country
in which animal production is an important enterprise. Most
information based on laboratory research and breeding experiments
has arisen in the
United States and
Great Britain, but
Denmark seems to have
been the first country to organize an agricultural extension
service that reached all levels of farming and animal husbandry.
Organizations have been established in several countries to
promote animal science and production; for example, in the United
States, the American Society of Animal Science and the American
Dairy Science Association; in Great Britain, the British Society
of Animal Production; and in Germany, Deutsche Gesellschaft
für Züchtungskunde. In 1966 these national organizations
formed the
World Association for Animal Production, the
major objective of which is to arrange periodic world conferences
for the exchange and dissemination of knowledge in the field
of animal science. (I.J.)
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