Identification of Biodiversity Losses in Indigenous Cattle Breeds in Romania

Abstract Biodiversity may be the medicine that can save humanity in the long term, giving it the sustainability to ensure its survival. The current trend in the evolution of animal biodiversity is its drastic reduction. Local populations and breeds, in addition to their economic importance, play a crucial ecological role, especially in less developed areas where intensive agriculture is less common. The main purpose of research is to identify biodiversity losses in indigenous cattle breeds. The number of individuals in the cattle herd during the transition to a market economy has continuously drastically decreased from 5380780 head in 1990 to 1826845 because after 1990 the problems in agriculture were not solved in a system that met the requirements of a capitalist economy. The novelty of the paper is that interest in local breeds is growing because, following evidence on the combination of best management techniques and the integration of non-commercial advantages, such as resistance to parasites, in to productivity evaluations, local breeds can gain an advantage. The strategies for the development of zootechnical biodiversity applicable in the short and medium term for the Romanian indigenous cattle breeds within the national genetics: Breeding of pure breeds specialized for milk production from two distinct body types: the large type, selected for the quantity of milk milked per calendar year, intensively reared, with free-range animals, recommended for areas with rich cereal production, allowing diets with high energy concentration per kg dry matter, and the small type, selected for the quantity of dry matter per kg milk production, intensively reared, with free-range animals, recommended for areas with access to natural or cultivated pastures and satisfactory resources for fibrous fodder needed during the stabling period. Buffalo are desirable as a species with low market supplies and which can exploit the coarser grassy vegetation in certain areas with particular natural environments. For any artificial populations of these species, it is desirable to practice breeding programmers of their own, based on reproductive isolation, in order to avoid value added from genetic progress leaking out of the breeding area. The creation of the most complete databases, the evaluation of the breeding sector and the conservation of the genetic potential of breeds threatened with extinction are national priorities in the protection of animal science biodiversity.