The biggest-ever European animal breeding project has been inaugurated in Edinburgh this autumn to harness the power of cutting-edge genetic sciences to develop more economically and environmentally sustainable production systems for cattle, pigs and chickens.

Officially launching the €23 million, four-year pan-European Sustainable Animal Breeding (SABRE) project at the Third Genesis Faraday Annual Event this month (September), Laurent Bochereau of the European Commission and Tom Tumilty of the Scottish Executive stressed its importance as a genuinely world-leading initiative in one of the most exciting fields of modern science.

“SABRE brings together 200 scientists in 33 organisations and businesses from 14 countries to develop a range of innovative breeding strategies to improve animal health and welfare, reduce chemical and energy inputs, minimise livestock waste and pollution, and maximise food safety and quality,” explained Mr Tumilty. “It is a stunning example of best practice in research organisations and industry working in a well-focused and highly co-ordinated way.”

“One of the large integrated projects made possible by Framework 6, SABRE is mobilising research across the EU to apply the cutting edge sciences of genomics and epigenetics to important current and future livestock production challenges,” Mr Bochereau added. “We see it playing a major role in ensuring Europe remains at the forefront of the fast-developing and competitive world of modern animal breeding which promises such benefits for global agriculture.”

Led by the Roslin-based Genesis Faraday Partnership and involving no less than seven UK partners, the SABRE work programme will focus on a series of inter-locking basic and applied research programmes.

The mammary gland, the digestive system and fertility will be the focus of separate basic research packages, with more applied research targeted at enhancing eggshell quality for food safety; improving animal behaviour linked to welfare; and eliminating boar taint in pig meat.

As well as pioneering new breeding strategies in these and other areas, the project will develop practical tools to enable these strategies to be applied in European farming practice and take the lead in encouraging their widespread application through an extensive knowledge transfer programme.

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