Cornwall Support Group

The Cornwall Support Group published its first web site in May  2000, it has had several changes through the years.It has now been brought up to date to harmonise with the RBST main web site.

The Cornwall Support Group was formed to support the work of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, in Cornwall. The Trust was established in 1973 to conserve native breeds of livestock that were threatened with extinction and to promote their use for education and research.

Since 1974 the Trust has used its Rare Breeds Acceptance Procedure to identify the breeds that qualify for support. This programme has been successful; no breed has become extinct since 1973 and most breeds have increased significantly in population size. At the same time, the immediate and potential value of several rare breeds has been demonstrated.   

In the Foot and Mouth outbreak in 2001 a number of rare breed animals were slaughtered in the cull. The Trust has now launched a National Regeneration Bank that will aid the establishment of a gene bank for safeguarding the future of these breeds.