Official Statistics

UK Farm Animal Genetic Resources (FAnGR) breed inventory results 2025 statistics release

Updated 14 May 2026

Annual updates have been made to the Farm Animal Genetic Resources breed inventory based on data provided by breed societies. This includes inventory data for 2025, estimated breeding female population figures for 2026 and, in some cases, revisions for earlier years.

The full dataset is very detailed and presented as two time series tables in a spreadsheet on the FAnGR Annual Statistics page. They present the data characteristics collected in the inventory and additional estimates of the populations for breeding females and the effective population size (Ne) for each breed. Data for native and non-native breeds of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, horses, donkeys and camelids is included in the full dataset.

This Statistics Notice provides a summary of the data on the estimated population of breeding females for native breeds of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats and horses. Annual trends in native farm animal populations should be understood in the context of changes in the general UK livestock populations. Please see the livestock population statistics collection page for data on overall livestock populations in England and the UK.

Key Results

Key results table - Number of native breeds by change in breeding female population between 2022 and 2026

Population change	Cattle	Goats	Sheep	Pigs	Horses
Large increase (> +25%)	3	1	2	0	0
Small increase (+5% to +25%)	4	0	6	1	3
No change (+5% to -5%)	8	1	12	1	5
Small decrease (-5% to -25%)	13	2	18	4	9
Large decrease (> -25%)	2	1	11	5	0
Data not available	0	0	5	0	3
Total	30	5	54	11	20

Notes:

1. Pig data compares figures for 2021 and 2025 as census data is available for all but one of the native pig breeds.
2. Horse data compares figures for 2021 and 2025 as they represent the actual live population in the year of data collection.
3. Only includes native breeds with data for both 2022 and 2026 (2021 and 2025 in the case of native horse and pig breeds).
4. For breeds that do not supply census data the breeding female population estimate for cattle, sheep, goats and one breed of pig is calculated using the three-year average of the number of female pedigree registrations and as such, the 2026 estimate is calculated using inventory data for 2023, 2024 and 2025. For some extensively managed sheep breeds that are managed in a way that makes pedigree recording difficult, this calculation uses the three-year average of the number of pure bred females added to the population in the year.
5. The breeding female population estimate for equines counts females who have produced at least one foal in the past 10 years and are still alive at the end of that period. Each qualifying female is counted from the year they first produce a foal and continues to be counted for 10 years after their last foal, unless recorded as deceased.

Between 2022 and 2026:

• The majority of native cattle breeds are showing no change or a small decrease in breeding female population.
• The majority of native sheep breeds are showing no change or a decrease in breeding female population.

Between 2021 and 2025:

• The majority of native pig breeds are showing a decrease in breeding female population.
• The majority of native horse breeds are showing no change or a small decrease in breeding female population.

Section 1 - UK Farm Animal Genetic Resources (FAnGR) Inventory

1.1 Background

The UK has one of the richest native Farm Animal Genetic Resources (FAnGR) populations in the world and the importance of FAnGR has been recognised at both international and UK levels. Because of this, a commitment was made under national and global biodiversity strategies to establish an annual inventory to show how breed populations are changing over time.

1.2 Data characteristics

Certain data characteristics are collected directly from the annual inventory survey. Further key population estimates can then be derived from these.

Table 1.1 - Explanation of data characteristics

Characteristic	Type
Female registrations	Inventory
Male registrations	Inventory
Dams	Inventory
Sires	Inventory
Breeding herds	Inventory
Breeding female population	Population Estimate1,2
Effective population size (Ne)	Population Estimate2

Notes:

1. Breeding female population is an estimate for the majority of inventory breeds. The exceptions are pig breeds (excluding the British Lop and Kunekune), which are actual breeding female populations from census data.

2. Details of how the population estimates are calculated are provided in Section 6.

The breeding female population figures for pigs (except for the British Lop and Kunekune) come from a census run by the British Pig Association, rather than estimates based on registrations. For this reason, the population census figures appear in the year for which the data was collected (i.e. 2025 for the latest data) as they represent the actual breeding female population at that point in time.

For hill sheep breeds that do not pedigree register or only partially pedigree register animals, inventory data can be based on census data on pure bred animals, as an equivalent to female registrations, male registrations, dams, sires and breeding herds.

All data including inventory data, estimates and breed status is published separately from this Statistics Notice on the same collection page :- UK farm animal genetic resources (FAnGR): breed inventory results. A machine-readable dataset is also available in the same location.

1.3 Breed status

Native breeds can be categorised as ‘at risk’ on the Native Breed Support (NBS) list and/or Breeds at Risk (BAR) list. Information about the categorisation and thresholds applied for the purposes of these lists are included in Section 6.

Section 2 – Key trends in breeding female population estimates

2.1 Introduction

This section focuses on the derived measure of the estimated breeding female population for native breeds.

Table 2.1 shows the total number of breeds for each species broken down by breed status included in the inventory. The total number of native breeds in the inventory are higher than those found in Section 2 due to missing data for a number of breeds.

Table 2.1 - Total number of breeds by breed status for each species

Breed status	Cattle	Sheep	Pigs	Goats	Donkeys	Horses	Total
Native	30	54	11	5	0	20	120
NBS at risk	21	40	11	5	0	17	94
BAR	13	31	11	5	0	16	76
ZR	44	44	14	10	1	34	147

2.1a Data presentation

The data presented in section 2.2 – 2.6 shows the estimated female population sizes for the following target years: 2022 and 2026 for cattle, sheep, goats and one breed of pig, and 2021 and 2025 for all other pig breeds and horses. In sections 2.3 – 2.6, the data is presented in a barchart and table displaying the percentage change in population between the target years for native breeds showing an increase or decrease of more than 5% (for more information on the methodology, please see Section 6). To facilitate the early identification of breeds with declining populations, a threshold decrease of 5% in the female breeding population within a five-year timeframe was selected by the Inventory and Monitoring subgroup (IMSG) UKGLE Committee to highlight breeds of concern.

Where there is incomplete data in the target years, the breeds have been excluded from the analysis.

2.2 Cattle Results

Chart and Table 2.2 Native cattle breeds with estimated breeding female populations increasing or decreasing by more than 5% between 2022 and 2026

Breed Name	% Change
Chillingham	70
Vaynol	50
Sussex	33
Irish Moiled	21
Galloway	10
British White	7
Beef Shorthorn	6
Jersey	-10
Gloucester	-11
Devon	-12
British Friesian	-12
Dairy Shorthorn	-14
Red Poll	-15
Lincoln Red	-16
Hereford	-17
Dexter	-21
South Devon	-23
White Park	-24
Aberdeen-Angus	-25
Northern Dairy Shorthorn	-25
Guernsey	-29
Ayrshire	-30

All the data which forms Chart 2.2 can be found in Table 5.1 in Section 5.

2.3 Sheep Results

Chart and Table 2.3 Native sheep breeds with estimated breeding female populations increasing or decreasing by more than 5% between 2022 and 2026

Breed Name	% Change
Derbyshire Gritstone	62
Devon and Cornwall Longwool	27
Balwen	23
Devon Closewool	13
Dorset Down	13
Badger Face Welsh (Torwen)	9
Dalesbred	8
Shetland Mainland	6
Badger Face Welsh (Torddu)	-7
Poll Dorset	-7
Rough Fell	-9
Kerry Hill	-11
Bluefaced Leicester	-11
Swaledale	-11
Wiltshire Horn	-11
Norfolk Horn	-12
Manx Loaghtan	-13
Jacob	-15
Portland	-16
Leicester Longwool	-16
Cotswold	-18
Wensleydale	-19
Exmoor Horn	-22
Shropshire	-23
Southdown	-25
North Ronaldsay	-25
Teeswater	-26
Castlemilk Moorit	-27
Boreray	-28
Welsh Mountain Pedigree	-28
Soay	-30
Clun Forest	-30
Lleyn	-31
Llanwenog	-36
Whitefaced Woodland	-38
White Face Dartmoor	-44
Romney	-52

Notes

1. Swaledale - caveats apply, please see breed notes in Section 3.

All the data which forms Chart 2.3 can be found in Table 5.2 in Section 5.

2.4 Pigs Results

Chart and Table 2.4 Native pig breeds with breeding female populations increasing or decreasing by more than 5% between 2021 and 2025

Breed Name	% Change
Tamworth	6
Large White	-7
Welsh	-17
Large Black	-20
British Saddleback	-20
Oxford Sandy and Black	-26
Berkshire	-31
Middle White	-34
Gloucestershire Old Spots	-41
British Lop	-51

Notes

• 1. British Lop data is not collected as part of the census and so the % change in female breeding population is based on estimated population sizes for this breed.

All the data which forms Chart 2.4 can be found in Table 5.3 in Section 5.

2.5 Goats Results

Chart and Table 2.5 Native goat breeds with estimated breeding female populations increasing or decreasing by more than 5% between 2022 and 2026

Breed Name	% Change
Old English Goats	46
Toggenburg	-12
Bagot	-20
Saanen	-28

All the data which forms Chart 2.5 can be found in Table 5.4 in Section 5.

2.6 Horses Results

Chart and Table 2.6 Native horse breeds with female breeding populations increasing or decreasing by more than 5% between 2021 and 2025

Breed Name	% Change
Suffolk Horse	12
Dales Pony	8
New Forest Pony	6
Highland Pony	-5
Shire Horse	-8
Cleveland Bay Horse	-8
Shetland Pony	-12
Welsh Pony of Cob Type (Section C)	-14
Welsh Pony (Section B)	-20
Welsh Mountain Pony (Section A)	-20
Hackney	-21
Welsh Cob (Section D)	-22

All the data which forms Chart 2.6 can be found in Table 5.5 in Section 5.

Section 3 – Notes relating to specific species and breeds

These breed notes provide specific context for data in the inventory tables and Section 2 of this statistics notice.

Species/Breed	Notes
Goats
Yorkshire Dairy Goats	The number of female registrations relates to the number of purebred females that have been born and added to the herd register.
Horses
All breeds	A new method for estimating the breeding female population for all equine breeds was introduced in 2025. The method calculates an estimated breeding female population by counting the number of females who have produced at least one foal in the past 10 years and are still alive at the end of that period. Each qualifying female is counted from the year they first produce a foal and continues to be counted for 10 years after their last foal, unless recorded as deceased. Females that have never produced a foal are excluded as they have not contributed genetically to the population. Figures for estimated breeding female population for equines are shown in the year of data collection as they represent actual live population at that point in time.
Caspian	Data is incomplete. Work is being done to improve coverage in future to give a truer picture of the breed statistics.
Irish Draught	Only UK-born, pure-bred pedigree registration types have been included (i.e. at least 3 or 4 generations of pure-bred pedigree). No grading up or cross-bred animals are included in these figures.
Pigs
All breeds except Kunekune and British Lop	The breeding female populations of all the pig breeds in the inventory except for the British Lop and Kunekune are actual census figures for live animals rather than estimates based on registrations. For this reason the population census figures appear in year in which the data was collected as they represent the actual breeding female population at that point in time.
Commercial Breeds	The UK’s commercial breeding base of some 316K sows has declined by 21% since 2021. The commercial breeding base is supported by breeding companies operating closed breeding programmes licensed by Defra. These companies represent 85% of the genetic resources for pig production in the UK. They are also linked into international breeding programmes and are a source of genetics for breeding programmes around the world. For reasons of commercial confidentiality, details of their populations are not published; however, information on their breeding lines and programmes can be found on the UKGLE website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/lists-of-recognised-animal-breeding-organisations/recognised-breeding-operations-for-hybrid-breeding-pigs
Sheep
Composite Breeds	Sheep populations are dynamic, with new composite breeds of sheep being developed from existing genetic resources all the time to create maternal and terminal sire composite breeding lines.
Hill breed population data	Extensively managed sheep breeds are recognised as important genetic resources. Extensive management systems make pedigree recording difficult. From 2025, Defra have included new supplementary questions inviting hill breeds with none or partial recorded pedigree data due to the way the breed is managed to provide comparable data on pure bred animals in the population. This is part of an ongoing process, with some breed societies committed to making this data available in the future. The following notes clarify whether pure bred or pedigree registration data is reported in figures.
Badger Face Welsh (Torddu)	Female and male pedigree registrations data available. Data for active dams, active sires, and active flocks not available.
Badger Face Welsh (Torwen)	Female and male pedigree registrations data available. Data for active dams, active sires, and active flocks not available.
Beulah Speckled Face	Female and male pedigree registrations data available. Data for active dams, active sires, and active flocks not available.
Black Welsh Mountain	Purebred female population, active sires,and active flocks census data available. Male pedigree registrations data available.
Derbyshire Gritstone	Female and male pedigree registrations data available. Data for active dams, active sires, and active flocks not available.
Herdwick	Purebred female population and active sires census data available. Male pedigree registrations data available. Active flocks data not available.
North Country Cheviot	Purebred female population, active sires, and active flocks census data available. Male pedigree registrations data available.
Romney	Data reported in the inventory reflects pedigree-recorded (Signet-registered) animals only. Romneys are widely kept as purebred flocks - a substantial proportion of the population is not pedigree registered. Engagement is ongoing to understand whether purebred data can be incorporated in the future.
Rough Fell	Purebred female population, active sires, and active flocks census data available. Male pedigree registrations data available.
South Country Cheviot	Purebred female population census data available. Pedigree registered male population and active flocks data available.
Swaledale	Male pedigree registration data available. Female population data is purebred census data.

Section 4 - Removed Breeds

Breeds for which there is a lack of data provision for the last 3 years or more are removed from the main inventory results and instead presented here. If they are able to provide data again, the breed can be reinstated in the main inventory and we would like to encourage breed societies to contact the UKGLE secretariat (ukglesecretariat@defra.gov.uk) if there is anything we can do to help them provide this information.

Table 4.1 Removed Breeds

Species	Breed Name
Camelids	Camels
Camelids	Guanacos
Cattle	Aubrac
Cattle	Bazadaise
Cattle	Fleckvieh
Cattle	Kerry
Cattle	Maine Anjou
Cattle	Normande
Cattle	Swedish Red and White
Cattle	Water Buffalo
Goats	Arapawa / British Arapawa
Goats	Cashmere
Goats	Cheviot (Feral)
Goats	Cheviot Goats
Goats	Pygmy
Horses	American Miniature Horse
Horses	American Quarter Horse
Horses	American Saddlebred
Horses	Anglo European
Horses	Appaloosa / British Appaloosa
Horses	British Riding Pony
Horses	Camargue / British Camargue
Horses	Coloured Horse and Pony
Horses	Fjord Horse
Horses	Friesian Horse
Horses	Lipizzaner
Horses	Scottish Sports Horse
Horses	Sport Pony
Horses	Traditional Gypsy Cob
Sheep	Brecknock Hill Cheviot
Sheep	Cambridge
Sheep	Easy Care
Sheep	Ile De France
Sheep	Llandovery Whiteface Hill
Sheep	Meatlinc
Sheep	Roussin
Sheep	Scottish Blackface
Sheep	Shetland Island
Sheep	South Wales Mountain (Nelson type)
Sheep	Vendeen / British Vendeen
Sheep	Welsh Hill Speckled Face
Sheep	Welsh Mountain

Section 5 - Data Appendix

Table 5.1 Native cattle breeds and % change in estimated breeding female population (in descending order of change)

Breed Name	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026	% Change 2022-2026
Chillingham	27	29	38	42	46	70
Vaynol	22	26	35	38	33	50
Sussex	3,155	3,518	3,690	3,851	4,196	33
Irish Moiled	555	594	644	691	669	21
Galloway	3,137	3,250	3,195	3,148	3,452	10
British White	1,124	1,088	1,129	1,173	1,207	7
Beef Shorthorn	12,072	12,657	13,212	13,575	12,833	6
Belted Galloway	3,985	3,959	3,555	3,907	4,149	4
Whitebred Shorthorn	447	481	434	433	461	3
Highland	3,001	3,023	3,060	3,143	3,092	3
Shetland	651	712	668	684	657	1
Longhorn	4,111	4,144	4,185	4,176	4,131	0
Luing	8,456	9,293	8,616	8,721	8,466	0
Welsh Black	4,226	3,870	3,866	3,959	4,226	0
White Galloway	214	249	185	252	209	-2
Jersey	25,251	24,827	23,690	23,886	22,737	-10
Gloucester	418	375	313	320	370	-11
Devon	8,085	8,555	8,550	7,765	7,120	-12
British Friesian	12,807	13,399	13,063	11,864	11,277	-12
Dairy Shorthorn	5,372	5,477	5,179	4,659	4,611	-14
Red Poll	2,666	2,581	2,577	2,525	2,268	-15
Lincoln Red	2,667	2,847	2,777	2,516	2,238	-16
Hereford	19,089	18,201	17,005	16,181	15,874	-17
Dexter	5,509	5,113	4,947	4,621	4,339	-21
South Devon	10,067	10,003	9,427	8,861	7,766	-23
White Park	724	740	670	622	549	-24
Aberdeen-Angus	35,545	32,669	28,647	27,646	26,814	-25
Northern Dairy Shorthorn	117	135	141	135	88	-25
Guernsey	2,452	2,570	2,330	2,206	1,738	-29
Ayrshire	18,062	17,053	15,648	13,774	12,602	-30

Table 5.2 Native sheep breeds and % change in estimated breeding female populations (in descending order of change)

Breed Name	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026	% Change 2022-2026
Derbyshire Gritstone	845	933	1,126	1,260	1,369	62
Devon and Cornwall Longwool	549	546	716	754	697	27
Balwen	881	904	1,000	1,017	1,081	23
Devon Closewool	1,700	1,869	1,949	1,837	1,925	13
Dorset Down	1,812	1,710	1,720	1,821	2,049	13
Badger Face Welsh (Torwen)	1,325	1,425	1,431	1,452	1,444	9
Dalesbred	8,369	8,359	9,154	9,096	9,065	8
Shetland Mainland	3,680	3,120	2,818	3,282	3,913	6
Oxford Down	1,111	1,141	1,223	1,173	1,161	5
Epynt Hardy Speckled	3,788	3,842	3,810	3,829	3,901	3
Border Leicester	1,602	1,531	1,598	1,601	1,632	2
Hampshire Down	4,075	4,379	4,430	4,295	4,106	1
Greyface Dartmoor	2,440	2,511	2,494	2,413	2,448	0
Hill Radnor	913	680	744	836	905	-1
Hebridean	4,414	4,736	4,977	4,789	4,353	-1
Suffolk Sheep	15,793	16,282	16,347	15,431	15,373	-3
Lonk	1,477	1,482	1,458	1,428	1,422	-4
Lincoln Longwool	631	647	675	628	606	-4
Ryeland (including Coloured Ryeland)	7,208	7,574	7,390	7,289	6,890	-4
Dorset Horn	1,609	1,840	1,703	1,626	1,537	-4
Badger Face Welsh (Torddu)	4,059	4,158	3,985	3,854	3,789	-7
Poll Dorset	20,827	24,155	23,125	20,998	19,377	-7
Rough Fell	6,435	6,493	6,311	6,120	5,843	-9
Kerry Hill	5,891	5,815	5,847	5,786	5,268	-11
Bluefaced Leicester	20,754	22,947	22,126	21,239	18,537	-11
Swaledale	152,989	150,849	146,229	141,609	136,245	-11
Wiltshire Horn	3,151	3,000	2,943	3,012	2,804	-11
Norfolk Horn	1,162	1,173	1,031	1,090	1,019	-12
Manx Loaghtan	785	807	763	664	682	-13
Jacob	6,473	6,411	5,996	5,789	5,508	-15
Portland	1,186	1,151	1,122	1,048	1,001	-16
Leicester Longwool	703	699	627	565	593	-16
Cotswold	801	752	692	680	660	-18
Wensleydale	1,056	1,113	1,058	966	859	-19
Exmoor Horn	6,096	5,804	5,447	4,929	4,725	-22
Shropshire	3,263	3,432	2,971	2,670	2,514	-23
Southdown	3,979	4,001	3,595	3,181	3,000	-25
North Ronaldsay	496	491	475	409	373	-25
Teeswater	963	915	899	787	709	-26
Castlemilk Moorit	1,092	1,041	868	807	802	-27
Boreray	523	522	446	406	378	-28
Welsh Mountain Pedigree	843	818	659	565	607	-28
Soay	1,018	997	965	833	717	-30
Clun Forest	2,154	2,141	1,909	1,657	1,500	-30
Lleyn	67,771	65,116	57,740	52,773	46,760	-31
Llanwenog	2,470	2,052	1,483	1,481	1,591	-36
Whitefaced Woodland	412	391	361	299	255	-38
White Face Dartmoor	3,037	3,104	2,260	1,987	1,695	-44
Romney	1,266	1,551	2,048	NaN	610	-52

Notes:

1. Some native breeds have been excluded from this analysis due to missing data in the target years. However partial data for these breeds is still available in the inventory dataset. For some extensively managed sheep breeds, estimates of breeding female population are based on the three-year average of the number of pure bred females added to the population in the year. For context on population data for extensively managed hill sheep breeds, please see Section 3.

Table 5.3 Native pig breeds and % change in estimated breeding female populations (in descending order of change)

Breed Name	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	% Change 2021-2025
Tamworth	239	270	239	225	253	6
British Landrace	121	109	111	116	123	2
Large White	289	255	257	256	270	-7
Welsh	435	323	296	358	359	-17
Large Black	354	307	292	288	284	-20
British Saddleback	414	368	347	315	332	-20
Oxford Sandy and Black	473	395	356	337	348	-26
Berkshire	363	310	288	236	250	-31
Middle White	349	351	307	267	231	-34
Gloucestershire Old Spots	612	577	472	424	362	-41
British Lop	340	294	294	209	166	-51

Notes:

1. Pig data compares figures for 2021 and 2025 as census data are available (for all but one of the native pig breeds).

Table 5.4 Native goat breeds and % change in estimated breeding female populations (in descending order of change)

Breed Name	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026	% Change 2022-2026
Old English Goats	13	15	17	17	19	46
Royal Golden Guernsey	1,882	1,921	1,902	1,839	1,861	-1
Toggenburg	267	342	341	308	236	-12
Bagot	566	564	556	463	452	-20
Saanen	234	248	232	215	169	-28

Notes:

1, Some native breeds have been excluded from this analysis due to missing data in the target years. However partial data for this breed is still available in the inventory dataset.

Table 5.5 Native Horse breeds and % change in breeding female populations (in descending order of change)

Breed Name	2022	2023	2024	2025	2026	% Change 2021-2025
Suffolk Horse	113	123	125	123	127	12
Dales Pony	340	339	352	358	366	8
New Forest Pony	2,376	2,431	2,546	2,598	2,514	6
Fell Pony	1,039	1,013	1,005	1,020	1,043	0
Dartmoor Pony	563	562	550	538	550	-2
Eriskay Pony	37	33	34	35	36	-3
Exmoor Pony	574	567	577	564	557	-3
Clydesdale Horse	738	738	731	720	709	-4
Highland Pony	908	891	882	873	861	-5
Shire Horse	1,060	1,039	1,023	1,007	973	-8
Cleveland Bay Horse	120	112	114	112	110	-8
Shetland Pony	6,906	6,539	6,250	6,046	6,053	-12
Welsh Pony of Cob Type (Section C)	2,473	2,385	2,290	2,198	2,115	-14
Welsh Pony (Section B)	2,181	2,047	1,933	1,842	1,754	-20
Welsh Mountain Pony (Section A)	6,595	6,126	5,790	5,485	5,259	-20
Hackney	243	233	216	200	191	-21
Welsh Cob (Section D)	5,769	5,342	5,013	5,485	4,501	-22

Section 6 – About these statistics

6.1 Background

The UK has one of the richest native Farm Animal Genetic Resources (FAnGR) populations in the world and the importance of FAnGR has been recognised at both international and UK levels. Because of this, a commitment was made under national and global biodiversity strategies to establish an annual inventory to show how breed populations are changing over time.

The FAnGR breed inventory was set up by Defra in 2013 to deliver that commitment and the inventory is steadily increasing in scope and coverage each year as it becomes established. Once the trends become apparent from the inventory, it enables decisions to be made to safeguard UK livestock biodiversity and to help future-proof UK farming.

The results build on the findings from the 2012 “UK Country Report on Farm Animal Genetic Resources (FAnGR)” and are a collaborative effort between the national UK Genetics for Livestock and Equines Committee (UKGLE), Defra and the Devolved Administrations, who work together to support the conservation and sustainable use of UK FAnGR. The inventory complements the committee’s other monitoring efforts and the work of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust on conservation and protection of UK rare and native breeds of farm animals.

6.2 Data Sources

Most annual data is reported through either Grassroots Systems Ltd., the British Pig Association or the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Coverage has been steadily increasing since the annual inventory was first developed in 2013. Breed societies have given their permission for these companies to supply the data every year for this exercise.

Data for all other breeds is collected annually via a survey. The overall response rate for the 2025 inventory was 96% (195 breeds). Questionnaires are emailed and non-respondents are contacted several times to encourage response. Priority is given to gathering comprehensive data from native breeds. It is made clear to participating breed societies in advance that all data supplied will be published (as it is all collected at the aggregate level). Therefore, there are no confidentiality issues around the data. Some breed societies already publish this information in their flock/herd books.

The pig data on numbers of pedigree breeding sows (with the exception of the British Lop and KuneKune) are sourced from the Bloodline Census, an annual exercise carried out by the British Pig Association (results are available on the British Pigs website). This Census also collects data on the number of members keeping registered pigs.

6.3 Data characteristics

6.3.1 Inventory data

The following data characteristics are collected from the inventory survey for all species.

Characteristic	Definition
Female registrations	Only includes fully pure-bred, pedigree registered, UK born animals which were registered (not born) in the year.
Male registrations	Only includes fully pure-bred, pedigree registered, UK born animals which were registered (not born) in the year.
Dams	Pedigree dams of fully registered animals in the year. Excludes dams which had offspring which were not registered.
Sires	Pedigree sires of fully registered animals in the year. Excludes sires which had offspring which were not registered.
Breeding Herds	Number of active pedigree herds/flocks which registered pedigree offspring in the specific year.

For hill sheep breeds that do not pedigree register or only partially pedigree register animals, inventory data can be based on census data on pure bred animals, as an equivalent to female registrations, male registrations, dams, sires and breeding herds. For context on population data for extensively managed hill sheep breeds, please see Section 3.

6.3.2 Population estimates

The following data characteristics are population estimates which are calculated using the inventory data.

Breeding female population

A key data characteristic is the size of the pedigree breeding female population. The actual number of these animals is not always directly available from breed societies as the databases are not always up to date. For Cattle, Sheep, Goats and two Pig breeds (British Lop and KuneKune) estimates are made of this key measure by multiplying the average number of pedigree female registrations over the previous three complete years by multipliers defined for each species (see table below). The multiplier is calculated using historic data on the ratio of the number of adult females in a breed to the number of female registrations in a year.

The female population figures for pig breeds other than the British Lop and Kunekune are actual census figures for live animals rather than estimates based on registrations. For this reason, the population census figures appear in the year in which the data was collected as they represent the actual breeding female population at that point in time.

For some extensively managed sheep breeds, this calculation uses the three-year average of the number of pure bred females added to the population. For context on population data for extensively managed hill sheep breeds, please see Section 3.

For equines, an alternative method for estimating the breeding female population of equine breeds was introduced in 2025. The method calculates an estimated breeding female population by counting the number of females that have produced at least one foal in the past 10 years and are still alive at the end of the period. Each qualifying female is counted from the year she first produces a foal and continues to be counted for 10 years after their last foal, unless recorded as deceased. Females that have never produced a foal are excluded, as they have not contributed genetically to the population.

Species	Multiplier
Cattle	3.52
Sheep	2.41
Goats	5.16
Pigs	2.70

Note that the pig multiplier only applies to the British Lop and Kunekune since there is no census data available for these breeds.

Effective population size (Ne)

The effective population size indicates the genetic diversity within the breed, by accounting for the total number of animals in a population and the relative numbers of male and female parents (sires and dams). A low effective population size signifies a greater likelihood of inbreeding and a higher risk of loss of genetic diversity. An effective population size of 50 is set as a threshold for concern by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. For further details see the JNCC bio-diversity indicator Technical background document.

The effective population size for each breed in the inventory is calculated using Sewell Wright’s formula:

Effective population size = 4 x (No. sires x No. dams)/ (No. sires + No. dams)

6.4 Breed Status

Native Breeds

For a breed to be considered native, the breed should satisfy all of the criteria under the definition of a native breed (see Definitions for use in the UK National Breed Inventory).

NBS at risk and BAR Breeds

Native breeds can also be listed on the Breeds at Risk (BAR) list and/or the Native Breeds Support (NBS) list. NBS list breeds are categorised as ‘at risk’ or ‘not at risk’ where data is available. Breeds are ‘uncategorised’ if sufficient data is not available. ‘At risk’ status for the BAR and NBS lists is determined by the estimated number of registered breeding females and breeds are included on the BAR list and considered. The thresholds for each species are as follows:

Species	NBS at risk Thresholds	BAR Thresholds
Cattle	≤ 6000	≤ 3000
Equines	≤ 6000	≤ 3000
Goats	≤ 6000	≤ 3000
Pigs	≤ 2000	≤ 1500
Sheep	≤ 6000	≤ 3000

Further information can be found on the FAnGR collection page FAnGR resources for farmers and livestock breeders - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

6.5 Quality Assurance

For quality assurance reasons, results are shared in advance of publication to members of the UKGLE committee.

6.6 Revisions

In this release, revisions have been made to historic data (2022-2024) for the following breeds:

• Cattle: Guernsey
• Cattle: South Devon
• Horses: Trakehner

Some historic data for Wagyu cattle, and hill sheep breeds Black Welsh Mountain, Herdwick and North Country Cheviot has been removed because of data quality concerns about the previous estimation methodology.

6.7 Data Uses

1. Enhance knowledge of population size and prevent the loss of breeds
2. Support strategic planning for the sustainable utilisation of animal genetic resources
3. Improve priority setting for conservation programmes
4. Enhance knowledge of cross-border genetic linkages
5. Raise public awareness
6. Reporting obligations:

• 6a - UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO), Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA) produces a ‘State of the World Report on Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture’. The UK as a member of the CGFRA provides relevant country information, which may include results from the inventory. The inventory also helps to measure the UK’s progress towards actions set out in the “Global Plan of Action for Animal Genetic Resources”.
• 6b - The UK National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan for 2030 (UK NBSAP). The latest UK NBSAP was published in 2025 and draws on the commitments made by the UK to address biodiversity loss. The UK NBSAP commits the UK to achieving all 23 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) targets domestically. The UK biodiversity indicators are used to report on progress towards meeting the goals and targets agreed under the KMGBF. In particular, the Animal genetic resources - effective population size of Native Breeds at Risk can contribute to measuring progress against Target 4 ‘Halt species extinction, protect genetic diversity, and manage human-wildlife conflicts’.
• 6c - Input to the European Farm Animal Biodiversity Information System (EFABIS) and FAO Global Information System (DAD-IS) to monitor Farm Animal Biodiversity across Europe and globally. The FAO data links all countries into the FAO Global Strategy for the Management of Farm Animal Genetic Resources.
• 6d – 2025 Environmental Improvement Plan: Commitment 61 ‘Strengthen the conservation of genetic resources by 2030’. Working with stakeholders and updating the UK Farm Animal Genetic Resources inventory, Breeds at Risk list and Native Breeds at Risk list, or their equivalents, annually is one action being taken to meet Commitment 61.

Further resources:

• Livestock Population Statistics
• British Pig Association
• 2012 UK Country report
• UKGLE policy information
• Research report into predicting the number of breeding females based on registration data
• UK biodiversity indicator – animal genetic resources: effective population size of native breeds at risk

What you need to know about this release

Contact details

Responsible statistician: Katie Fisher, Kings Pool, 1-2 Peasholme Green, York YO1 7PX

Tel: +44 (0)208 5654419 Email: katie.fisher@defra.gov.uk

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Acknowledgements

The UKGLE committee would like to thank all those breed societies already taking part and to Grassroots Systems Ltd., the Rare Breeds Survival Trust and the British Pig Association for their high level of support and input into this project.