Selection and breeding work in the northern reindeer husbandry of the Arctic regions of the Russian Federation

Abstract

The article presents the results of evaluating selection and breeding work in reindeer farms in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. The research was carried out by general scientific methods of historical, statistical and expert analysis. It is noted that at present, 4 breeds of reindeers are officially registered in Russia: Nenets, Chukchi, Evenk and Even. As of the beginning of 2020, the breeding base of northern reindeer breeding includes 26 farms. The article analyzes the state of selection and breeding work in the regions. All breeding farms of the Arctic zone work according to long-term and annual work plans agreed with the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, they carry out in-depth breeding work based on the selection of animals according to phenotypic characteristics. Individual animal registration and ear tagging are applied. The animals are graded annually with class assignment. Before the rut, castration is carried out in order to cull out non-cool and unsuitable breeding bulls. To reduce the likelihood of closely related crossings and increase the heterogeneity of the breeding stock, an inter-herd and inter-farm exchange of sire bulls is carried out. Among the problems that hinder the development of selection and pedigree work in northern reindeer husbandry and hinder the realization of the genetic potential of pedigree animals are: an acute shortage of pasture feed in the tundra zone during the snowy period; mass cutting of antlers (growing horns) from producers, which reduces the quality of the seed and reproductive rates; imperfection and low reliability of breeding records; lack of a unified genetic monitoring system; an acute shortage of specialists with the necessary competencies; lack of the development of the market for breeding animals; insufficient level of financing of breeding farms by region. In addition, it is especially emphasized that breeding work in reindeer herds is often carried out without scientific support and supervision by specialists. Genetic examination of the origin of animals, assessment of producers by the quality of seed and offspring is poorly introduced.