UK native breeds support (NBS) list
Published 1 April 2026
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-native-breeds-support-nbs-list/uk-native-breeds-support-nbs-list
The NBS list recognises UK native breeds of livestock (cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs) and equines. It replaces the archived native breeds at risk (NBAR) list.
The list categorises native breeds as ‘at risk’ or ‘not at risk’ according to estimated breeding female population levels, measured against Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UNFAO) thresholds (see Table 1). Breeds are listed as ‘uncategorised’ if breeding female population data is unavailable.
Only native breeds categorised as ‘at risk’ in the NBS list are eligible for payments under the Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes’ native breed supplements (in England). Breeds that are categorised as ‘not at risk’ or ‘uncategorised’ are not eligible for these payments.
Check the criteria for a breed to be included on the list, including further information on the ‘at risk’, ‘not at risk’ and ‘uncategorised’ sections of the list.
Cattle
At risk native cattle breeds
The threshold to be considered ‘at risk’ is less than or equal to 6,000 estimated breeding females.
- Belted Galloway
- British White
- Chillingham
- Dairy Shorthorn
- Dexter
- Galloway (includes pedigree-registered Black and Dun Galloway)
- Gloucester
- Guernsey
- Highland
- Irish Moiled
- Lincoln Red
- Longhorn
- Northern Dairy Shorthorn (registered as separately identified animals within the Dairy Shorthorn breed of cattle)
- Red Poll
- Shetland
- Sussex
- Vaynol
- Welsh Black
- White Galloway
- White Park
- Whitebred Shorthorn
Not at risk native cattle breeds
- Aberdeen Angus
- Ayrshire
- Beef Shorthorn
- British Friesian
- Devon
- Hereford
- Jersey
- Luing
- South Devon
Equines
At risk native equine breeds
The threshold to be considered ‘at risk’ is less than or equal to 6,000 estimated breeding females.
- Cleveland Bay Horse
- Clydesdale Horse
- Dales Pony
- Dartmoor Pony
- Eriskay Pony
- Exmoor Pony
- Fell Pony
- Hackney
- Highland Pony
- New Forest Pony
- Shire Horse
- Suffolk Horse
- Welsh Mountain Pony (Section A) (includes Section A semi-feral ponies)
- Welsh Pony (Section B)
- Welsh Pony of Cob Type (Section C)
- Welsh Cob (Section D)
Section A semi-feral ponies
‘Section A semi-feral’ refers to a particular and separately identified sub-population of pedigree ponies registered within the studbook of the Welsh Pony and Cob Society. To keep their semi-feral status they must remain within their designated environment and have individual passports officially annotated to show their semi-feral status. You can check individual animals’ eligibility with the Welsh Pony and Cob Society, which keeps lists of all potentially eligible Section A semi-feral ponies.
Not at risk native equine breeds
- Shetland Pony
Uncategorised native equine breeds
- Percheron
- Thoroughbred
Sheep
The threshold to be considered ‘at risk’ is less than or equal to 6,000 estimated breeding females.
At risk native sheep breeds
- Badger Face Welsh (Torddu)
- Badger Face Welsh (Torwen)
- Balwen
- Border Leicester
- Boreray
- Castlemilk Moorit
- Clun Forest
- Cotswold
- Derbyshire Gritstone
- Devon Closewool
- Devon and Cornwall Longwool
- Dorset Down
- Dorset Horn
- Epynt Hardy Speckled
- Exmoor Horn
- Greyface Dartmoor
- Hampshire Down
- Hebridean
- Hill Radnor
- Jacob
- Kerry Hill
- Leicester Longwool
- Lincoln Longwool
- Llanwenog
- Lonk
- Manx Loaghtan
- Norfolk Horn
- North Ronaldsay
- Oxford Down
- Portland
- Shetland Mainland
- Shropshire
- Soay
- Southdown
- Teeswater
- Welsh Mountain Pedigree
- Wensleydale
- White Face Dartmoor
- Whitefaced Woodland
- Wiltshire Horn
Not at risk native sheep breeds
- Beulah Speckled Face
- Bluefaced Leicester
- Dalesbred
- Lleyn
- Poll Dorset
- Rough Fell
- Ryeland (including Coloured Ryeland)
- Suffolk Sheep
- Swaledale
Uncategorised native sheep breeds
- Black Welsh Mountain
- Herdwick
- North Country Cheviot
- Romney
- Scottish Blackface
- South Country Cheviot
Goats
At risk native goat breeds
The threshold to be considered ‘at risk’ is less than or equal to 6,000 estimated breeding females.
- Bagot
- Cheviot Goats
- Golden Guernsey
- Old English Goats
- Saanen
- Toggenburg
There are currently no ‘not at risk’ or ‘uncategorised’ goat breeds.
Pigs
At risk native pig breeds
The threshold to be considered ‘at risk’ is less than or equal to 2,000 estimated breeding females.
The breeding female populations of all pig breeds except for British Lop are actual census figures for live animals rather than estimates based on registrations.
- Berkshire
- British Landrace
- British Lop
- British Saddleback
- Gloucestershire Old Spots
- Large Black
- Large White
- Middle White
- Oxford Sandy and Black
- Tamworth
- Welsh
There are currently no ‘not at risk’ or ‘uncategorised’ pig breeds.
Native heritage semi-feral populations
The NBS list includes herds or flocks that have been officially recognised by Defra as heritage semi-feral populations under Defra’s existing heritage semi-feral application scheme. To retain their heritage semi-feral status, they are required to remain within their designated environment or similar environment and remain semi-feral. The tests that are used to define heritage semi-feral populations can be viewed on GOV.UK.
At risk native heritage semi-feral populations
- Dartmoor Hill Pony
The criteria for eligibility to the UK NBS list
For a breed of cattle, sheep, goat, pig or equine to be included on the UK NBS list it must:
- be a native breed, as defined in Definitions for use in the UK National Breed Inventory - GOV.UK
- be eligible for inclusion in the UK National Breed Inventory, as defined in Definitions for use in the UK National Breed Inventory - GOV.UK
In order to be categorised as ‘at risk’ or ‘not at risk’, sufficient data must be submitted to Defra to enable the estimated number of pedigree breeding females to be calculated. The methodology for each species is set out in UK Farm Animal Genetic Resources (FAnGR) breed inventory results 2024 statistics release - GOV.UK
To be categorised as:
- ‘at risk’ - a breed must have a population of registered breeding females below or equal to the thresholds shown in Table 1
- ‘not at risk’ - a breed must have a population of registered breeding females above the thresholds shown in Table 1
If insufficient data is provided to enable the estimation of the number of breeding females, the breed is ‘uncategorised’. A breed in the uncategorised section may be moved into the ‘at risk’ or ‘not at risk’ section where sufficient data to estimate the number of breeding females is provided.
Table 1: The NBS list thresholds (number of breeding females) for a breed to be considered ‘at risk’ – based on UNFAO thresholds
| Species | At risk threshold for the estimated number of breeding females |
|---|---|
| Cattle | ≤ 6,000 |
| Equines | ≤ 6,000 |
| Sheep | ≤ 6,000 |
| Goats | ≤ 6,000 |
| Pigs | ≤ 2,000 |