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"The Contemporary Geography of Indigenous Irish Livestock" - Part II

by Richard Yarwood, Nick Evans and Julie Higginbottom

The Geography of Irish Rare Breeds (pages 19-26)
 

Methodology (pages 18-20)

The authors collected information from herd (or flock or stud) books, which contain detailed information on the numbers and exact location of pedigree animals. Maps of the distribution of each breed of native Irish livestock were compiled based on this information, drawn at a county level to maintain the confidentiality of individual farms. The authors note that herd books can only offer "a snapshot of a particular breed at a particular point in time" (page 19). There is also no guarantee that owners will register all of their animals, though the economic benefits of registration ensure that most owners do register. "It may be accepted that the majority of pedigree animals are included in their appropriate herd book" (page 19). Further information was gathered from the Irish Rare Breeds Directory published in 1995, compiled by the Irish Rare Breeds Group (IRBG) and the Northern Ireland Support Group of the RBST. The authors also distributed a postal questionnaire survey to all the members of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust via its quarterly journal, The Ark. Respondents were asked why they felt it was important to preserve rare breeds and why they kept particular breeds. Socio-economic information on RBST supporters was also gathered. The target population included the 131 members of the RBST who lived in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, as well as RBST members in Britain who kept native Irish breeds. Thirty-two questionnaires were returned by Irish respondents (a 24% response rate) and 111 from people who kept Irish breeds in Britain.
 

The Perceived Importance of Rare Breeds (pages 20-21)
 

Two thirds of the 32 Irish respondents kept rare breeds at the time of the survey. Of the non-keepers, over a fifth had kept rare breeds in the past and a further 80% were considering keeping them in the near future. Unless stated otherwise, the authors' discussion relates to the Irish members of the RBST. Table 3 (below) sets out the reasons given by all respondents for why Irish rare breeds should be saved. 

Table 3: The reasons why Irish RBST members think it is important to preserve rare breeds.

(Note that more than one response could be given by a respondent)

Very few Irish RBST members and no owners considered that Irish breeds had any economic importance, highlighting the view that rare breeds have little value within intensive, modern productivist agriculture and, consequently, fewer farmers have kept them. However, Table 3 also reveals that rare livestock breeds are starting to be re-valued in other ways, especially to preserve the genetic material of rare breeds for future use due to their unique characteristics. Some people (38% of owners, 36% of non-owners) felt there might be a future need for these genes if environmental or economic changes were to have a significant impact on farming practice.

The authors note that some writers have argued that the 1980s and 1990s witnessed an increased marketing, and even invention, of rural lifestyles and rural experiences as the rural economy has moved to a "post-productive phase" [where other values sources of income are replacing straightforward agricultural production]. In Ireland, this was linked with the growth of the heritage industry, with heritage funds and heritage centres springing up all over the country. Irish breeds have found new significance in the "commodification of heritage" (page 21). Two survey respondents owned heritage centres and one-third of all Dexter and Kerry cattle were kept as visitor attractions, as were half of all Irish Moiled cattle (Table 4).

Half of the respondents felt that rare breeds were important for national heritage - they kept animals explicitly because they were Irish (Table 3 above). Some members did acknowledge the productive qualities of rare breeds by stating that they tasted better than modern breeds, but the authors emphasised that this did not seem as important as the genetic or heritage arguments.

Table 4: Reasons (percentages) for keeping rare livestock, by owners and breed.

*Total = all respondents for all 5 Irish rare breeds

On to Part III

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