ACTIVITY IN THE FIELD OF GENE VALUABLES CONSERVATION OF GENETIC RESOURCES IN FARM ANIMALS IN CROATIA

The main varieties of livestock in Croatia are represented by a very small number of breeds and strains. So far the work on improvement has neglected the biological variety as a basis for successful and satisfactory national cattle production for a longer period of time. In Croatia about twelve autochtonous breeds and strains are seriously endangered. Since 1984 there have been attempts at organising their systematic protection. But a full national programme of protection and utilisation of valuable autochtonous animals does not exist. Regional programmes and individual activities show certain successes. Scientific background to the national protection programme is the project "Genetic Polymorphisms and Gene Collections of Domestic Animal Breeds in Croatia" (1990) and the published papers from this field in the last ten years