Plimoth Plantation's Rare Breeds Program

“Stewardship of the Earth includes not only the myriad species of wild animals, plants and habitats, but also the domestic animals and plants which are part of the biological web of life. Those who appreciate the role of livestock in conserving the environment, providing services, food and other products, and companionship believe that domestic animals have a right to continued existence as do wild species. Domestic animals are the first animals we learn as children and the subject of most nursery rhymes and children’s stories. Human beings have a particular obligation to protect the domestic species which have been our partners for so many centuries of co-evolution and interdependence.” - Don Bixby, DVM

Animals were an integral part of agriculture in England as well as in New England, providing not only food and hides but also manure for fertilizing fields. The colonists imported livestock to help create a permanent settlement.

In addition to the Kerry and Milking Devon cattle, Arapawa goats and Red Dorking Chickens mentioned here, Plimoth Plantation raises Wiltshire Horn sheep, San Clemente goats and Tamworth pigs. Each of these breeds has been selected as an animal that best represents the livestock found in Plymouth Colony in 1627. Museum staff work with archaeological and historical records as well as livestock depictions in period prints and paintings in order to determine the animals best suited for a ‘role’ in our living history sites.

All of the breeds raised at the museum are traditional livestock breeds that are in danger of extinction and are included in the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) Conservation Priority List. Kerry and Milking Devon cattle and Arapawa and San Clemente goats are listed as “critical” conservation priorities with fewer than 200 annual registrations in the United States and an estimated global population of less than 2,000 animals. Our Tamworth hogs are considered a “threatened” population as are the Red Dorking chickens. Our Wiltshire Horn sheep, after many years of being listed in more tenuous categories are now listed as a recovering breed – still requiring careful monitoring but on their way to becoming a success story. Working with ALBC, geneticists, and national and international breed associations, Plimoth Plantation is part of a growing global network of individuals and organizations focusing on sustainable agriculture and genetic diversity in livestock. In addition to practicing germplasm preservation, we maintain accurate records and registrations and safeguard the herd’s health and overall well-being. Working together, we can make a difference to the future of these animals.

Rare breeds of livestock, such as those we maintain at Plimoth Plantation, play a vital role not only in the future of agriculture but in environmental stewardship and genetic diversity. While modern livestock, often highly inbred for high input, high output are predominant today, they are often less resistant to infectious disease or require a highly controlled environment. Traditional livestock carry the genetic material that allows them to be resistant to disease and parasites, tolerant of heat, capable of thriving on poor pasturage or to excel in mothering abilities – all traits important in maintaining biodiversity. This, as well as their direct connection to our unique agricultural heritage, makes them a high priority in conservation efforts.

At the Nye Barn, you will have an opportunity to learn more in-depth information about the breeds of livestock that we raise at the museum.

Exciting News from ALBC: Spring 2008

The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy protects genetic diversity in livestock and poultry species through the conservation and promotion of endangered breeds. These rare breeds are part of our national heritage and represent a unique piece of the earth’s bio-diversity. The loss of these breeds would impoverish agriculture and diminish the human spirit.

The Arapawa goat is a feral breed of domestic goat whose ancestors likely arrived with European colonists in New Zealand as early as the 1600s. The Arapawa goat population has often been associated with the now extinct Old English goats and may represent the last remaining examples of the old breed that has been preserved dur to the relative isolation of Arapawa Island. The Old English was the predominant goat in England at the time Australia and New Zealand were settled and likely came with the early colonists. The breed was an all-purpose family goat that was replaced in the 1870s by breeds that were considered superior in either milk or meat production. While the specific origins of the goats found on Arapawa Island have not yet been documented to everyone’s satisfaction, phenotypical evidence, and now DNA evidence, continues to further support the hypothesis of their relationship to the Old English goat.

Documentation of the origins of the feral herd of goats on Arapawa Island is important to understanding the genetic resource represented in the goats that need conserving. To increase its understanding of the Arapawa goat, American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC), through ALBC Technical Advisor Dr. Phil Sponenberg, teamed up with the University of Cordoba, Plimoth Plantation, and several Arapawa goat breeders to do a DNA analysis of the breed in 2007. The mission of the study was to determine the Arapawa’s relationship to other breeds of goat. The study found that the Arapawa goats are clearly distinct from other breeds. They are not Spanish as some scientists speculated, and the Old English connection may yet prove true. What is certain is that the hardiness, self-sustainability, and disease resistant qualities make them a genetic treasure and a potential source for the stimulation of narrowly bred domestic varieties of goats that are in need of new genetics. It is through the efforts of dedicated breeders such as Plimoth Plantation that the importance of this breed reaches the public while providing an excellent habitat for conservation breeding and contribution of additional stock to the global population of these rare goats.

• Kerry Cattle: CRITICAL
• Milking Devon Cattle: CRITICAL
• Arapawa Island Goats: CRITICAL
• San Clemente Goats: CRITICAL
• Tamworth Pigs: THREATENED
• Dorking Chickens: THREATENED
• Wiltshire Horn Sheep: RECOVERING

CRITICAL

Livestock with this status have fewer than 200 annual registrations in the United States and an estimated global population of less than 2,000 animals. (In 2007 there were 317,128 Holsteins registered in the United States with a global population of 22,000,000!).

THREATENED

Fewer than 1,000 annual registrations in the United States and estimated global population less than 5,000.

RECOVERING

Breeds that were once listed in another category and have exceeded Watch category numbers but are still in need of monitoring. A success story!

Are you ready? Adopt an animal now!

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hours: Plimoth Plantation's Administrative offices, Education Department and Creative Gourmet are open 9 AM to 5 PM, M-F
address: 137 Warren Avenue, Plymouth, MA 02360 USA
telephone: 1 + 508 746 1622