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FELL PONY BREED ADDED TO “CONSERVATION
PRIORITY LIST”
for American Livestock Breeds Conservancy
(ALBC)
PRESS RELEASE dated AUGUST 2003
As of March 2003, the Fell pony
breed has been added to “the Conservation Priority List” of the American
Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC). ALBC
is similar to the RBST and has five status categories: Critical, Rare, Watch,
Study, and Recovering which apply to the following livestock; Asses, Cattle,
Goats, Horses, Pigs, Sheep, & Poultry. The
Fell pony has been added under the category of a “Rare” horse.
“Rare” is defined by ALBC as: “Fewer
than 1,000 annual North American registrations and estimated fewer than 5,000
global population.” This means
that now ALBC will officially add the breed to their rosters via hard copy and
on their web site. They will offer
links to the breed association and other key Fell resources.
ALBC has already been kindly including the
Fell pony in their live exhibits
since 1999. Venues have included
Equitana, the Carolina Classic, the
Kentucky
Horse
Park
, and a joint annual convention of ‘Carriage Association of America’ and
ALBC.
INFORMATION
ON ALBC:
·
ALBC, founded in 1977, is the only organization in the
U.S.
working to
conserve rare breeds and genetic diversity in livestock.
·
ALBC protects genetic diversity in livestock and poultry
species through the conservation and promotion of endangered breeds.
·
ALBC’s programs include research on breed population size,
distribution and genetic health; research on breed characteristics; gene banks
to preserve genetic material from endangered breeds; rescues of threatened
populations; education about genetic diversity and the role of livestock in
sustainable agriculture; and technical support to a network of breeders, breed
associations, and farmers.
Victoria Tollman, Director of the
Fell Pony Conservancy of North
America, who has been running rare equine breed exhibits for ALBC since 1999
& is familiar with ALBC and its unique focus, said,
“…receiving ALBC status for the Fells
is an interim step at best in the stewardship of our breed.
I view the listing as bittersweet. It
points out the responsibilities we must shoulder and the serious task of
cultivating good stewards for our breed. It
is a time to see the seriousness of the global state of our breed and look
around for quality-minded stewards to attract so that we might better help
conserve our breed through the lean times as we enter the 21st
century. Now would be the time to remember that it's the "quality" of
breeders and ponies that will matter in the long haul, not the numbers.
Sheer numbers will not improve the conservation of our breed.”
Detailed census material was requested by the ALBC and was
provided independently by two NA associations, the Fell Pony Conservancy of NA
and the Fell Pony Society of NA. The
NA Liaison took it upon herself personally to draft and submit a letter to the
FPS for approval & signature. The
letter facilitated a clear understanding of the rights and privileges of the
NA population as it relates to the mother society and the global Fell
population.
Marjorie Bender, Research and Technical Program Manager for ALBC had this
to say, “Imported populations to NA are particularly subject to conservation
problems. They have a history of
becoming orphaned from their primary populations.
The result – conservation is undermined as important breeding stock is
“lost” from the global population … It has become increasingly clear to
ALBC that for imported breeds reciprocity with the mother registry is
critical.”
"This year ALBC required a letter from the mother society articulating
the rights and privileges of registered animals located in NA.
Such a letter was included with the Fell Pony Society North American
Liaison
(Officer) survey……The letter was essential, and lacking it, would have
warranted excluding the Fell Pony from the ALBC Conservation Priority List.”
ALBC also emphasized their role as a conservation organization is
primarily to share information, direct inquiries and to help NA breeders
understand breeding as it relates to genetic conservation.
They stressed the role of breed associations and networks is to (1)
conserve genetic diversity and integrity, (2) to honestly promote the breed to
the public, (3) to hold its breeders to a high level of ethics to protect not
only the association, but to enhance constructive conservation and finally, (4)
it is the role and obligation of NA associations to develop and maintain
positive relationships with the mother registry.
According to ALBC, in order to
prevent the isolation of the NA gene pool, North American Fell owners may want
to consider remaining directly under the registration umbrella of the mother
registry instead of establishing their own separate or daughter society.
This would ensure the reciprocation of genetic conservation to the global
population.
Submitted by Laura Hart, Fell Pony Society North American Liaison
Officer, www.FellponyInfo.com,
(removed)@yahoo.com.
ALBC CONTACT INFORMATION: American
Livestock Breeds Conservancy,
PO Box 477,
Pittsboro,
North Carolina
27312
USA, www.albc-usa.org, Telephone:
(919) 542-5704, Fax: (919) 545-0022.
ALSO SEE:
THE NATIVE PONY (Angus, Scotland) - Article published June/July 2003-
please Click here for
an Adobe Acrobat PDF version of this Native Pony article
Home
Conservation in the 21st Century
"Fell History" by Sue Millard
Where do We Go From Here? - S. Millard
What is a Fell pony?
Not a Friesian
Miracles of Survival
Conservancy Press Release
FPS Liaison Resignation
Horse Sense - pony with a purpose
Fell pony; ALBC Conservation Priority List
Fell pony Temperament and Maturity
Beatrix Potter - Fairy Caravan
NA Fell pony History & Liaison Intro
Equine Bovine Mag
Fell Convention UK - Equine Journal
SE Equine Monthly
Fell Pony Journal
The Reach
Horsemens Yankee Pedlar
Rare Breeds Journal
Merlin at Kentucky Horse Park
ALBC
Rural Heritagecopyright Laura Hart
Website for the
Native Pony (Angus, Scotland)
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