Slovenian native breeds of farm animals

These are: Cika cattle, Lipizzaner horse, Posavje horse, Slovenian draft horse, Krškopolje pig, Jezersko- Solčava sheep, Bovec sheep, Istrian pramenka sheep, Bela Kranjina pramenka sheep, Drežniška goat and Štajerska hen.

The areas of Triglav National Park and Julian Alps are the origin area for:

• Drežniška goat
• Bovec sheep
• Cika cattle.

In recent decades, so-called market livestock farming has come to the fore, with modern and highly productive breeds of farm animals. But thanks to the centuries-old cultural attitude of Slovenian farmers towards nature and their ancestral heritage, Slovenian livestock farming has nevertheless preserved native breeds of farm animals. They have become both our cultural and natural values. However, due to market laws, most of our native breeds of farm animals are threatened.

And why do we need to conserve native Slovenian breeds? Reasons:

• the genetic aspect: animals have genetic traits that have been almost completely lost in highly selected breeds;
• landscape aspect: because of their adaptation, these breeds are generally the most suited to their environment and thus the best preservers of the cultural landscape;
• cultural- ethnological aspect: are the result and living proof of the long and successful breeding work of several generations of breeders in a given area, and are therefore of great cultural and ethnological value.