National and international perspectives in fangr conservation programmes

When one of the aims of a national conservation program is the conservation of genetic variation, some key considerations transcend the geographically limited character of a nationally formulated conservation program. If studied from a strictly national perspective, those populations tend to be prioritised that represent genetic variation foreign to national genetic resources. This paper illustrates the necessity of explicitly taking into account non-indigenous genetic resources when the focus of a conservation plan is nationally oriented. Two genetic diversity studies, one in poultry and one in cattle, are discussed. Use of the Safe set methodology is suggested to identify uniquely national animal genetic resources while conserving a maximum of genetic variation