Scotland is on course to miss out on the full economic and environmental potential of native livestock breeds due to key omissions in the proposals for the new Agriculture Bill, says the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST).

Today, in its response to the Scottish Government’s consultation on proposals for the new Agriculture Bill, RBST is highlighting the lack of recognition of the crucial benefits delivered by native breeds.

RBST Chief Executive Christopher Price said: “Native breeds of livestock should be at the heart of future farming and land management in Scotland. Breeds like Shetland and native Aberdeen Angus cattle have been bred for these landscapes and are ideally suited to modern systems where food production and environmental sustainability go hand in hand. Primitive sheep breeds such as the Soay and Boreray breeds are low input and their premium produce is high quality, high welfare, and culturally important as part of Brand Scotland. Yet the Agriculture Bill proposals omit key policies to help increase the use of native livestock in Scottish farming and land management. The overall direction of the Bill is positive but without greater recognition of the role native breeds should play, we risk missing out on their full economic and environmental potential.”

In its consultation response, RBST highlights three areas in particular where the proposals fail to recognise the benefits of native breeds:

• Lack of investment in Scotland’s local abattoir network – the vital local abattoir network is in decline and one of the biggest challenges for sustainable native livestock farmers is finding an abattoir which accepts small numbers of non-standard animals.
• Omitting gene banking for rare livestock – the proposals provide support for plant genetic resources but not those for livestock which can also help ensure future genetic diversity, support current conservation and act as an insurance policy against extinction.
• Overlooking kept animals in the protection and restoration of biodiversity – conservation of the UK’s rare native breeds of livestock is crucial for biodiversity within species. Native livestock breeds are part of Scotland’s biodiversity in the same way as their wild counterparts.

 RBST Chief Executive Christopher Price adds: “Scottish Government has a major opportunity in the new Agriculture Bill to open up the unique and wide-ranging benefits of native livestock breeds for Scotland’s environment and economy. We will continue to make the case for changes that recognise the importance of biodiversity within livestock species, commit to investing in the local abattoir network, and support gene banking for rare native livestock breeds.”