Abbreviation GEH Formation 1981 (1981) Official language German | Motto Erhalten durch Nutzen Type Eingetragener Verein | |
Headquarters Witzenhausen, Hesse, Germany | ||
The Gesellschaft zur Erhaltung alter und gefährdeter Haustierrassen or GEH is a German national association for the conservation of historic and endangered domestic animal breeds.
Contents
History
The GEH was founded in Witzenhausen, in Hesse, central Germany, in 1981. It has about 2100 members. Since it was founded, no domestic livestock breed has become extinct in Germany.
Activities
The GEH co-operates with other national and international organisations for the conservation of biodiversity. It publishes an annual Rote Liste or red list of endangered breeds of livestock, which attributes one of four categories of conservation risk to domestic breeds of cattle, dogs, goats, horses, pigs, rabbits and sheep, of chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys, and of bees; listing of domestic pigeon breeds is in preparation. Some breeds from outside Germany are listed separately. The four levels of risk are:
The risk level is calculated using a formula that takes into account five criteria: the number of breeding animals or breeding females; the percentage of pure-bred matings; the five-year trend in breed numbers; the number of breeders or herds; and the interval between generations of the animal.
The GEH also publishes, in conjunction with the Bund Deutscher Rassegeflügelzüchter, the German national association of poultry breeders, a separate list of the historic poultry breeds and colour varieties that were raised in Germany before 1930. The same levels of conservation risk are assigned as in the main red list.
Endangered breed of the year
Since 1984 the GEH has each year named one or more animal breeds as "endangered breed of the year". To date, these have been: