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An animal gene reservation program was prepared in Finland in 2004. The main goal of this program is to encourage maintaining good international competitiveness and native breeds' genetic reserves as well as research.

The bases of native breeds in different countries are not competitive against more productive breeds. The native breeds have nevertheless adapted to local conditions during centuries and they have also been able to use the different pastures most efficiently. The native breeds have been the foundation of our domesticated animals and they have had an important role in our culture. The breeds, which have adapted well to the poor pasture conditions, are excellent keepers of our national traditional landscapes.

Maintaining native breeds is not important only for our culture and history, but it has also a great value in research and economy. The characteristics of native breeds may come surprisingly valuable as the production conditions on farms and the needs of consumers are changing.

Finnish native breeds are: Finn horse, native chicken, Finn sheep, grey sheep of Kainuu, Åland sheep, eastern, western and northern Finn cattle, Finn goat and dark bee. The original Finn pig is extinct. There are also national dog breeds in Finland.

Finn cattle

The base of Finn cattle comes from the cattle of North Ugrian nomads. It is one of the oldest cattle breeds in Europe. There are three original cattle breeds in Finland: northern (e.g. Lapland cattle), eastern ("kyyttö") and west Finn cattle.

The most common breed of Finn cattle is western. There are about 4000 pieces of western Finn cows left. This breed has rather high production rates both on meat and milk comparing to other Finn cattle breeds. The colour of western Finn cattle is brown.

Finn cattle in a South-Western farm. Picture Eriika Lundström

Both the eastern and the northern Finn cattle are highly endangered at the moment. Their situation has been even worse; both breeds were almost extinct earlier. There are about 350 eastern Finn cows left. It is the oldest cattle breed in Finland. An eastern Finn cattle has white back and brown sides. The number of remaining northern Finn cows is also about 350 pieces. The main colour of northern Finn cattle is white, but there are also red and black exceptions.

Sheep and goat

There are three original sheep breeds in Finland: Finn sheep, grey sheep of Kainuu and Åland sheep. The most common of those breeds is the Finn sheep. There are about 15 000 ewes of those left. The Finn sheep has a very high fertility rate resulting in an average of 2,7 lambs / ewe. The main colour of Finn sheep is white, but there are also black and brown variations.

Picture Eriika Lundström

Åland sheep

The amount of grey sheep of Kainuu is about 1 000 ewes, the main colour of those is grey. The third Finnish sheep breed, the Åland sheep, is extremely endangered. There are only 300 ewes of Åland sheep left. It is quite common for an Åland sheep to have horns, while other Finnish native sheep breeds don't usually have horns. The colouring of Åland sheep varies from different shades of grey to black and white. In addition to that there are also beige variations.

There are about 7000 Finn goats left. Most of the goats are white or grey in colour, but there are also brown and black variations. Some of the Finn goats have horns, some not. Finn goat is related to the native Scandinavian goats. Finn goat has adapted well to local conditions, thus keeping its position as the dominant race.

Åland sheeps Picture Eriika Lundström

Finn horse

The amount of Finn horse started to decline since the 1950's. This is related directly to the development of machinery in agriculture. There are about 19 000 Finn horses left, of which only about 2 000 mares are kept for breeding purposes. The mating of Finn horse begun officially 100 years ago, in other words year 2007 is a celebration year for it. The main colour of this calm horse breed is chestnut.

Most of Finn horses are used in harness racing nowadays. Finn horse is one of the fastest cold blood breeds in the world; it has beaten the world record time several times. Finn horse is also suitable for riding. There are still some Finn horses used for work, such as forestry.

More information about Finnish native breeds:

Hassinen, K. 2006: "Maatiaisten matkassa". Maahenki Oy. Gummerus Oy. (Finnish)
Saastamoinen, M. (toim.). 2007: "Suomenhevonen". Hippos. Jyväskylä. 248 s.
www.maatiainen.fi
www.virtuaaliamk.fi
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
www.mtt.fi/monimuotoisuus/maatiaiset1.html

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