Alatau breed of cattle: past, present, future

Abstract

In recent years, local populations of cattle in the Republic of Kazakhstan have been practically replaced by highly productive breeds, which has led to a significant reduction in the number of local breeds. One of such breeds is the Alatau breed of cattle, bred in 1950 by crossing local Kazakh cattle with Schwycki bulls brought to Kazakhstan by immigrants from Russia.

            From the moment of approbation, the breed was widely spread in the south-eastern part of Kazakhstan during half a century (till 2000). However, with the reforming of the agro-industrial complex of the republic, the breeding base of the Alatau breed underwent a number of quantitative and qualitative changes, causing a decrease in all indicators. This, to a certain extent, was also strengthened by the lack of purposeful breeding work, selection, obtaining and use in reproduction of repair bulls of own selection.

            Due to the lack of genetic material for reproduction of Alatau breed, active import of Schwyz bulls' semen from the USA and their widespread use in breeding stock began.

            And, thus, to date, the entire breeding base of Alatau cattle is represented by crossbred stock with a high proportion of blood on the Schwyz breed, which in turn raises concerns about the complete absorption of the breed by foreign genetics and the risk of its disappearance.

In the article the world tendencies of preservation of local, aboriginal and local breeds of agricultural animals, their importance in the world biological diversity and also sustainable management of breeding resources of Kazakhstan are given.

            Based on archival and modern literary sources, the article outlines the history of Alatau breed breeding, its current state and science-based technologies for their revival.

Key words: cattle; breed; gene pool conservation; biodiversity; aboriginal population.