Een duurzaam fokprogramma voor het Lakenvelder rund: Inteelt en verwantschap binnen de Nederlandse Lakenvelder populatie en adviezen voor de toekomst

Dutch Belted cattle is one of the rare native livestock breeds in the Netherlands. Monitoring trends in the number of breeding animals and the rate of inbreeding is essential for the conservation of rare breeds. In 2019, the Center for Genetic Resources, the Netherlands (CGN) carried out a population genetic analysis for the Dutch Belted cattle breed. One of the main results was that the rate of inbreeding in the past decennium exceeded the FAO standard of 0.5% per generation and results showed that there is a need to take precautions to limit the rate of inbreeding in the future. In the second part of the study, various measures were simulated to determine which measures can decrease the expected rate of inbreeding. The simulations showed that the use of a higher number of breeding bulls and a more even distribution of the matings per bull will lead to a decrease in the expected rate of inbreeding. More precisely, selection for a low Mean Kinship (average relationship of an individual to the whole population) could lead to the lowest expected rate of inbreeding. In practice, a combination of different measures is expected to keep the rate of inbreeding for the Dutch Belted population below the safe standard.