What is in the genebank?
These are mainly animal species with an important function in agriculture, for which the Netherlands is a leading breeding country, such as cattle, pigs, chickens, horses, goats and sheep. In addition, the gene bank contains breeds of animal species that are of cultural-historical value for agriculture in the Netherlands and belong to our living heritage, such as ducks, geese, pigeons, dogs and rabbits.
In the genebank database, you can search for breeds and individual animals yourself.
Donor selection
The CGN secures genetic diversity within a breed through targeted selection of donor animals. We select as many unrelated animals as possible based on pedigree or DNA data.
Relevant breed societies and livestock farmers are consulted in the selection of animals of which genetic material is stored. A livestock farmer or breed society can also make their own proposal and contact the CGN.
Number of samples
The aim is to store enough material for all Dutch farm animal breeds that when a breed becomes extinct, a healthy population can be bred back, which we call the core collection. A special calculation programme is used to calculate the amount of semen and/or embryos to be stored per breed and per donor animal per species.