SC - COTSWOLD FARM PARK -

Mon Jul 10 13:33:05 PDT 2000

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Marcus Loidolt,aka, Johann von Metten, medieval poultrier, writes:
 To all those to whom this comes, who deal with historic animals and 
their by-products, Check out this site!!!
 They have some fascinating info on all sorts of historic breeds, from 
my chickens to sheep, for you textile people, just about any other 
domestic animal!
 Granted, they are rather biased towards British beasts, but it's a 
start!! Maybe we can find info on continental breeding programs like 
this!!

http://www.fortunecity.com/marina/bounty/170/index.html

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<p><a name=3D"top"><font color=3D"#000000" size=3D"5"><strong>COTSWOLD
FARM PARK - Rare Breeds Conservation</strong></font></a></p>

<p><font color=3D"#000000" size=3D"4"><strong>By</strong></font><font
color=3D"#0000FF" size=3D"4"><strong> </strong></font><a
href=3D"elizabeth.html"><font color=3D"#0000FF" size=3D"4"><strong>Elizabet=
h
Henson</strong></font></a><font color=3D"#000000" size=3D"4"><strong>
- - Photographs by Eileen Hayes</strong></font></p>

<p><font color=3D"#000000" size=3D"4"><em><strong>Adapted for the
internet by </strong></em></font><a
href=3D"http://www.fortunecity.com/meltingpot/lawrence/583"><font
color=3D"#0000FF" size=3D"4"><em><strong>Kirsty Tallon</strong></em></font>=
</a></p>

<hr>

<p><font color=3D"#008000" size=3D"6"><em><strong><u>COTSWOLD FARM
PARK</u></strong></em></font></p>

<p><font size=3D"5"><em>"The Premier UK Rare Breed Survival
Centre"</em></font></p>

<ul>
    <li><font size=3D"4"><strong>Cotswold Farm Park, <br>
        Guiting Power, <br>
        Nr Stow on the Wold, <br>
        Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, <br>
        United Kingdom</strong></font></li>
</ul>

<ul>
    <li><font size=3D"4"><strong>Telephone: (UK dialling code)
        01451 850307</strong></font></li>
</ul>

The Cotswold Farm Park is the 'home of rare
breed conservation' set high up on the Cotswold Hills, England,
in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Its comprehensive
collection of rare breeds was first established in the late
1960's when many of our traditional breeds were faced with
imminent extinction. Besides being a vital 'shop window' for the
work of rare breeds conservation, it is an important breeding
centre for many of the breeds we keep and combines a day out for
the family in a safe and attractive environment.

<p><font size=3D"5"><em><strong><u>CONTENTS:</u></strong></em></font></p>

<p><a href=3D"cotswold.html#abou"><font color=3D"#0000FF" size=3D"4"><stron=
g><u>ABOUT
COTSWOLD FARM PARK:</u></strong></font></a></p>

<p><a href=3D"cotswold.html#what"><font color=3D"#0000FF" size=3D"3"><stron=
g><u>WHAT
ARE RARE BREEDS ?</u></strong></font></a></p>

<p><a href=3D"cotswold.html#why"><font color=3D"#0000FF" size=3D"3"><strong=
><u>WHY
CONSERVE RARE BREEDS ?</u></strong></font></a></p>

<p><a href=3D"cotswold.html#25th"><font color=3D"#0000FF" size=3D"3"><stron=
g><u>25TH
ANNIVERSARY YEAR</u></strong></font></a></p>

<p><a href=3D"cotswold.html#rare"><font color=3D"#0000FF" size=3D"3"><stron=
g><u>THE
RARE BREEDS SURVIVAL TRUST</u></strong></font></a></p>

<p><a href=3D"school.html"><font color=3D"#0000FF" size=3D"4"><strong><u>VI=
SITING
and </u></strong></font></a><a href=3D"school.html"><font
color=3D"#0000FF" size=3D"4"><strong><u>SCHOOL VISITS:</u></strong></font><=
/a></p>

<p><font size=3D"4"><strong><u>THE ANIMALS:</u></strong></font></p>

<ul>
    <li><a href=3D"cattle.html"><font color=3D"#0000FF" size=3D"3"><strong>=
<u>CATTLE</u></strong></font></a></li>
    <li><a href=3D"goats.html"><font color=3D"#0000FF" size=3D"3"><strong><=
u>GOATS</u></strong></font></a></li>
    <li><a href=3D"pigs.html"><font color=3D"#0000FF" size=3D"3"><strong><u=
>PIGS</u></strong></font></a></li>
    <li><a href=3D"sheep.html"><font color=3D"#0000FF" size=3D"3"><strong><=
u>SHEEP</u></strong></font></a></li>
    <li><a href=3D"equines.html"><font color=3D"#0000FF" size=3D"3"><strong=
><u>EQUINES
        (Horses and Ponies)</u></strong></font></a></li>
    <li><a href=3D"other.html"><font color=3D"#0000FF" size=3D"3"><strong><=
u>OTHER
        ANIMALS</u></strong></font></a></li>
    <li><a href=3D"poultry.html"><font color=3D"#0000FF" size=3D"3"><strong=
><u>POULTRY
        AND WATERFOWL</u></strong></font></a></li>
</ul>

<hr>

<p><a name=3D"abou"><strong><u>ABOUT COTSWOLD FARM PARK</u></strong></a></p=
>
<table border=3D"0" cellspacing=3D"0" cellpadding=3D"20">
<tr><td>
<p align=3D"left"><img src=3D"farmers.jpg" width=3D"300" height=3D"452" hal=
ign=3D"center" valign=3D"middle"></p>

<p align=3D"left"><em>Above: John Neave and Joe Henson on the farm</em></p>=

</td><td align=3D"top">
The Cotswold Farm Park is part of the 1600 acre Bemborough
Farm which is a typical mixed family farm high on the Cotswold
hills of England, 900 feet above sea level. It is farmed by my
father, Joe Henson, and his partner and old school friend, John
Neave. My brother, Adam, and I are also now part of the business.
We are tenant farmers as the land is owned by Corpus Christi
College, Oxford, while we own all the crops, livestock and
machinery on the farm. The Farm Park, alongside the old Roman
Road of Bucklestreet (which runs fron Broadway to
Bourton-on-the-Water), is 25 acres of uneven pasture which when
we were children we called the humpty dumps. A hundred years ago
it was quarried for stone slates and the original tiles on the
roofs of Corpus Christi College probably came from this field. In
1970, European Conservation Year, my father and John Neave
decided to use this area, which was of little use to their
commercial farm, to create a shop window for the work of rare
breeds conservation. Here visitors to the Cotswolds could be told
the story of British livestock breeding illustrated with our
beautiful breeds so rarely seen in todays countryside. They could
also be encouraged to support the work of preserving a vital part
of our living heritage. Little did they realise how successful
their idea would be or that the work they helped to start would
spread to every corner of the world.
</td></tr></table>

<p><a name=3D"what"><strong><u>WHAT ARE RARE BREEDS ?</u></strong></a></p>

Ever since humans first began to use and domesticate wild
animals, they have been changing these animals, by selection, to
suit their needs. At the beginning early farmers probably
selected for friendly temperament and ease of handling, but later
they developed strains of fast running cunning dogs to help them
hunt, willing cattle and horses for draught work, milky, fine
wooled sheep for cheese and cloth, prolific pigs able to scavenge
on waste food and poultry which laid large quantities of eggs.

All of these things have come about by each livestock breeder
only breeding from those animals which do the job best. Now if
all farmers at all times and in all places were searching for the
identical requirements then the ideal animals would probably have
been created centuries ago and we would be content with one breed
of each species. This is not the case. Not only do different
communities have different requirements of their animals, which
also have to suit their geographical and climatic conditions, but
these requirements are constantly changing with changes in the
affluence and well being of the population. For example, in the
Middle Ages our rural population kept versatile animals which
fulfilled several roles but did none of them particularly well.
Today, our largely urban population demands high production for
our agriculture which uses highly efficient, but single purpose
livestock breeds. Our old self reliant, multi-purpose breeds have
been reduced to pitfully low numbers and many have been lost.

<p><a name=3D"why"><strong><u>WHY CONSERVE RARE BREEDS ?</u></strong></a></=
p>

There are three main reasons why we should preserve types or
strains of domestic animals that are not needed by modern
agriculture.

The first is as a living museum piece to enable people
interested in our living heritage to come and see the type of
animals our ancestors farmed. The second is for research, to
study in detail the characteristics of these old fashioned
breeds, but the most important reason is for the future. Our
farming needs are constantly changing and if livestock breeders
are to mould their animals to fit these changing needs it is
vital that they have a pool of genetic material to fall back on.
Once a breed is gone it's gone forever, and who is to say that in
the future we will never need the characteristics of today's rare
breeds.

<p><img src=3D"johnjoemanxram.jpg" width=3D"400" height=3D"377"></p>

<p><em>Above: John and Joe with a Manx Ram</em></p>

<p><a name=3D"25th"><strong><u>25TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR</u></strong></a></p>

In 1969 my father, Joe Henson, was invuited to join a working
party of people interested in the conservation of rare breeds of
farm animals. He soon added to his own small collection of local
rare breeds, Cotswold sheep, Gloucester Old Spot Pigs, Gloucester
Cattle and Shire Horses, and took over much of Lord Zuckerman's
'gene bank' of rare breeds from Whipsmnade Zoo in 1970. The
collection was opened to the public in 1971 and has been a
popular farm attraction ever sinmce with many visitors buying
surplus breeding stock to establish their own flocks and herds
thereby helping to ensure the continued survival of all our
breeds.

<p><a name=3D"rare"><strong><u>THE RARE BREEDS SURVIVAL TRUST</u></strong><=
/a></p>

In 1973 Joe Henson was founder chairman of a national charity
established to ensure the continued survival of all our
endangered rare breeds of British farm livestock. The Rare Breeds
Survival Trust (R.B.S.T.) is now a thriving organisation with
over 10000 members and has his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales
as its Patron.

The R.B.S.T. carries out a regular census of all the less
common breeds in the country and publishes a list of those in
most immediate danger. These are ranked according to how much
they are considered to be in danger due to low numbers,
geographical isolation or small numbers of closely related
breeding units.

<hr>

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