Official Statistics

UK Farm Animal Genetic Resources (FAnGR) poultry inventory release note – Official Statistics in Development

Updated 15 October 2024

It is important to note that this publication is badged as Official Statistics in Development as they have not met the quality criteria for Accredited Official Statistics badging. A fuller description of the limitations of these statistics is provided throughout the release.

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.

In 2019 a pilot poultry inventory was published which aimed to give an annual snapshot of the breeding populations of four species: Chickens, Ducks, Geese and Turkeys. From 2021 the inventory will be published annually, developing the methodology in the pilot publication to produce a detailed time series dataset for all four poultry species. Each year the poultry inventory will steadily increase in scope and coverage as it becomes established. The time series dataset will be used to identify trends in pedigree poultry populations, enabling decisions to be made to safeguard UK livestock biodiversity and to help future-proof UK farming.

2. Data Characteristics

All data characteristics are collected directly from the annual inventory.

Characteristic	Definition
Numbers of breeding females	Number of active pedigree breeding females for a particular year
Numbers of breeding males	Number of active pedigree breeding males for a particular year
Number of Pullets	Number of active pedigree females under one year of age. Which have been registered as pedigree and planned to be kept in the flock
Breeding Flocks	Number of active pedigree flocks which registered pedigree offspring in the specific year

All data including inventory data and breed status are published separately from this Release Note on the same collection page here:- Poultry Inventory Dataset

These are presented in a spreadsheet dataset that provides data for all breeds for each species.

3. Coverage

Data in the inventory is sourced from individual breed society records as provided by the breed societies themselves. As pedigree breed owners will be registered with their respective society, they are in the best place to have comprehensive records for their breed. These breed societies have performed a census of their members to gather data on their breeds. No estimation for missing breeders has been performed on the data provided by the breed societies. This means all numbers presented will be the minimum number of animals for each breed.

4. Methodology

Data for all breeds is collected via a survey sent directly to the breed societies; this was sent in January 2024. 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 books.

The categories of data collected:

• Number of full pedigree UK breeding females on 31st December 2023
• Number of full pedigree UK breeding males on 31st December 2023
• Number of full pedigree UK pullets (<1 year old) on 31st December 2023
• Number of full pedigree UK flocks on 31st December 2023

Data is published for all these categories and gives a comprehensive picture of the structure of each breed.

Data are collected for the 31st December to give a snapshot of the animals in the breeding stock. This method was chosen to give a more accurate representation of the genetic diversity and robustness of the breed, compared to using the number of pedigree animals which have been registered or produced offspring in a given year. This is because the turnover of poultry is often shorter than a year hence animals would be included in the annual figure despite not adding to the current genetic diversity of the breed.

Information provided by breed societies does not represent the full population of each breed. This is because there is no information on the total number of breeders for each breed, this also means no robust estimations could be made. For these reasons all numbers and statistics presented should be taken as minimum values and comparison between breeds should not be made.

5. Data Sources

Data for all breeds have been collected through breed societies. Some breed societies look after many breeds, such as the Rare Poultry Society.

6. Data Uses

The data in this report will be of value to all those with an interest in using, developing and protecting the UK’s farm animal genetic resources. This includes breeders, breed societies, associations and non-governmental organisations who are directly involved in their management and conservation. It also includes policymakers, academics and national experts who have an interest in making sure that national and international commitments are met, and key issues and trends are being monitored and addressed appropriately. The report will also be of interest to international experts and organisations who are involved in European and global assessments of the state of agricultural biodiversity in the livestock sector.

The data will be used to:

A. Enhance knowledge of population size and prevent the loss of breeds

Comprehensive breed inventories and data on the size and structure of breed populations are prerequisites for effective management of Animal Genetic Resources, particularly to identify breeds that are at risk of extinction. Current dependence on a small number of commercial breeds is placing our future food security at risk. An essential defensive strategy is to conserve our breeds/FAnGR in order to future proof our farming.

B. Support strategic planning for the sustainable utilisation of animal genetic resources

Without good knowledge of FAnGR, decision-makers at national level, in the breeding industry and in breed societies will be unable to develop strategic plans for sustainable use and development. Knowledge of all the breeds that might be drawn upon, and of the production environments in which the animals can be kept, is needed in order to develop or strengthen animal breeding programmes. The information gained from repeated surveys is important for identifying trends that need to be addressed in future plans and provides a basis for assessing progress in the implementation of existing plans and policies.

C. Improve priority setting for conservation programmes

The limited availability of resources for conservation programmes to protect breeds that are at risk means that priority setting is necessary. Decisions as to which breeds to target for conservation require up-to date information on the risk status of all the breeds under consideration and on any unique characteristics that the breeds may possess. This information will be used to update the UK Breeds At Risk list (BAR).

D. Enhance knowledge of cross-border genetic linkages

Because of cross-border exchanges of genetic material a national breed population may be part of a common gene pool whose range extends beyond national boundaries. In other words, it is appropriate to consider the national population to be part of an international population. Establishing whether or not this is the case may be important for cross-border cooperation in managing the population. Identifying national populations that should be linked at the international level is also important for regional and global assessments of FAnGR diversity.

E. Reporting obligations

Because of the importance of FAnGR, there are national and international obligations for reporting on the status of animal genetic resources.

• 2011 England Biodiversity Strategy.
• UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) “Global Plan of Action”
• UN Convention on Biological Diversity “Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020” and the Aichi biodiversity goals and targets. The UK biodiversity indicators are used to report on progress towards meeting these goals.
• Input to the European Farm Animal Biodiversity Information System (EFABIS) and the 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.

F. Raise public awareness

Survey outputs such as breed population numbers, trends of populations, descriptions of breeds with particularly interesting characteristics or photographs of animals in their production environments, are likely to be useful in the preparation of publicity materials that can promote understanding of the importance of FAnGR among decision-makers and the general public.

7. Revisions Policy

If any revisions are required to past data we will update the published results as early as possible and provide information about these revisions in the Excel dataset.

8. Quality Assurance

For Quality Assurance reasons, results are shared in advance of publication to members of the UKGLE committee. This is to check that definitions are correct and understandable and that the presentation of tables are clear, contain the most appropriate metadata and in the most suitable format.

9. Further resources

• Livestock Population Statistics
• Full results from the Breed Inventory
• 2012 UK Country report
• 2010 Poultry in the United Kingdom

10. Contact details

Responsible statistician: Sam Beale, Horizon House, Deanery Road, Bristol BS1 5AH.

Tel: +44 (0)7386 658427

Email: sam.beale@defra.gov.uk

11. An Official Statistics in Development publication

These statistics are produced to the high professional standards set out in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics

They are designated as Official Statistics in development, a subset of newly developed or innovative official statistics undergoing evaluation which are developed under the guidance of the Head of Profession for Statistics (HoP). We hope to engage with users and stakeholders to determine the suitability and quality of these statistics going forward.

For general enquiries about Accredited Official and Official Statistics, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

12. Feedback

As part of our ongoing commitment to compliance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics, we wish to strengthen our engagement with users of these statistics and better understand the use made of them and the types of decisions that they inform. Consequently, we invite users to make themselves known, to advise us of the use they do, or might, make of these statistics, and what their wishes are in terms of engagement. Feedback on this release and enquiries about these statistics are also welcome.

Please send any feedback to: ukglesecretariat@defra.gov.uk or alternatively please complete this short survey.