There is growing international concern about the continued loss of animal biodiversity. While most attention has focused on iconic species, the conservation of Europe’s numerous native breeds of farm animals and the need to maintain genetic diversity within breeds, has largely been overlooked. Animal production systems are constantly changing, and a decreasing number of breeds are now producing an increasing part of Europe’s total animal production. This has contributed to the disappearance of many native breeds, and within populations the genetic base is becoming increasingly narrow. The genetic resource base of Europe’s numerous native breeds is of great importance to the future prosperity of the European animal production industry as genetic biodiversity allows the expression of advantageous traits influencing adaptability to harsh environments, productivity, or disease resistance. It is likely that selecting naturally occurring traits will help overcome anticipated difficulties in livestock production due to climate change, including global warming and more extreme weather patterns. Of critical importance for the conservation of farm animal biodiversity will be the cryopreservation of reproductive cells and tissues (germplasm), both for conservation purposes (gene banks) and for use in modern farm animal breeding (assisted reproductive technologies), underpinning sustainable and efficient animal production systems (food security). The successful cryopreservation of farm animal germplasm conveys both major societal and economic benefits to the European Community. However, the cryopreservation and use of germplasm is still constrained by several technical problems, including reduced viability and fertilization rates of reproductive cells due to cryodamage following freeze-thaw procedures.
