News
June 2011
Great progress has been made on efforts to establish a formal organization for Arapawa goat breeders in the US. Long time registrar for US Arapawas, Al Caldwell of Long Path Farm Rehoboth, MA was the driving force behind the effort.
Over the past winter and spring Caldwell collaborated with Arapawa breeders across the country to draft by-laws (PDF) with a mission statement. The AGB mission is to protect and promote the genetics, identity, and versatility of the critically endangered Arapawa Island Goat through collective conservation efforts, member and public education, networking and collaboration with like-minded individuals and organizations, and maintain an accurate pedigree registry and breed standards.
The first formal meeting of the AGB Board of Directors was held by conference call on April 7, 2011. The new board consists of Al Caldwell, Sarah Bowley of SVF Foundation, Newport, RI, Cynthia Lewis of Fort Lewis Preservation Farm, Jefferson, ME, Will Ober of Windsown Farm, Trumansburg, NY , Lee Royer of Wee Bigger Farm, Taneytown, MD, and John Truelson of Surprise Farm, Middleboro, MA. Truelson is also Rare Breeds Barn Manager for Plimoth Plantation, Plymouth MA.
Sarah Bowley was unanimously elected President. Her experience as Program and Livestock Manager at SVF Foundation has given Bowley a solid understanding of rare-breed conservation which will be extremely helpful to the AGB. Will Ober was unanimously elected Vice President. Cynthia Fort-Lewis stepped up to serve as Secretary, Treasurer, and to maintain the website. Al Caldwell agreed to continue as registrar, despite the fact he is passing his herd on to Sarah and Nicholas Bowley and will no longer keep goats on his farm.
Arapawa goats are likely the rarest breed of goat in the United States today. As of 2010's census there were only 147 purebred Arapawas on the continent. This small population has been gaining popularity among conversationalists over the past few years. The AGB plans to support all interested Arapawa breeders by providing a communications network, identifying niche marketing opportunities for the breed and educating the public on the importance of genetic diversity within livestock populations.
The correct pronunciation of Arapawa is ah-rah-PAH-wah, with the emphasis on the PAH. This was confirmed by AGB member Marilyn Burbank of Rogue River, OR, who traveled to New Zealand in 2006 to arrange for semen collection from four bucks from the herd of breeder David Hughes, thereby doubling the genetic material available in the United States. The AGB is currently working in conjunction with geneticist Dr. Phil Sponenberg to utilize this frozen genetic material to increase the stability of the US Arapawa population.
Arapawa Goat Breeders – US is an open organization, welcoming all owners of Arapawa goats and interested conservationalists.
June 2009
Cryogenic conservation for Arapawas
In addition to our efforts to conserve the critically rare Arapawa goats, SVF Foundation in Newport, RI in collaboration with Tufts Veterinary School preserves germplasm (semen and embryos) of endangered breeds of cattle, sheep, and goats. They have completed their collection from Myotonic and San Clemente goat breeds and are now working on the Arapawas.
A herd of 15 has been health tested and they are being moved to the Newport farm to begin the process; collecting sperm and embryos will take as much as 18 months. The herd will then be placed on a breeding farm to resume putting real kids on ground. See their site www.svffoundation.org.
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June 2009
Genetic Base of the U.S. Herd Expanded - After many failed attempts to introduce additional breeding lines beyond the 6 founder Arapawas imported in 1994, we have a fine set of twins sired with semen from New Zealand. Yellow Tag in David Hugh’s herd is the source. Al Caldwell and John Truelson performed the artificial insemination. The efforts to import semen were motivated by a general concern for the effects of inbreeding and the desire to have the US herd be as representative of the feral herd as possible. The bucks chosen were either from the Arapawa Island herd or first generation removed. AC Dolly is the proud dam.
Artificial insemination on the goats has been illusive. This attempt employed Lutalyse, a Pfizer product, to synchronize estrus. Identifying heat had been a problem. Having finally gotten a procedure that can work, John and Al plan to continue the effort with semen imported in 2006 by Marilyn Burbank and some collected from the founder bucks at Plimoth Plantation.
Summary of Findings of the DNA Analysis of Several American Breeds
Summary by D. P. Sponenberg
Analysis by Ámparo Martínez Martínez and Juan Vicente Delgado BermejoBreeds included were:
Goats: San Clemente Island, Arapawa, and Spanish (Texas)
cattle: Texas Longhorn (all CTLR registered)
swine: Mulefoot, Guinea, Red Wattle
horse: Mustang (various)These were examined by microsatellite anaysis. Number of microsatellites tested were 26 for goats, 27 for cattle, 25 for swine, and 23 for horses.
Goat
Goat breeds included in the analysis were from Spain: Majorera, Palmera, Tinerfeña, Blanca Andaluza, Blanca Celtíberica, Malagueña, Murciana, Granadina. From Latin America: Moxotó (Brazil), Criolla Boliviana (Bolivia), Criolla Cubana (Cuba). Others: Cape Verde, Alpine, Boer, Anglo-Nubian, and Saanen.
The overall within-population variation for Arapawa and San Clemente Island goats was low, for Spanish goats was higher. This indicates that the history of foundation and subsequent isolation for Arapawa and San Clemente Island goats is accurate. These are relatively homogeneous populations, and each distinct from the other.
When compared to other populations the USA Spanish group clusters strongly with the other Iberian breeds. This indicates that the history on these is indeed accurate, and that they belong here. The Arapawa does not cluster here, but is off in a corner somewhere between Anglo-Nubian and Boer. This does not imply a relationship with these breeds, but does indicate that Arapawas are very unlikely to have had an Iberian origin. The San Clemente Island goats are very remote from the other breeds. Some aspects of the analysis suggest a similar remoteness from other breeds for the Arapawa, but that should be followed up by further analysis with a broader array of breeds in the comparison. Specifically, if the Arapawas are “Old English” then including more North Atlantic goat breeds would likely point to this conclusion.
The analysis indicates that the Arapawa and San Clemente are breeds, and that they are relatively inbred. The sampling technique was broad (not all from one subpopulation) so this is no doubt accurate. Steps for effective conservation and avoidance of further inbreeding are necessary. Each is genetically unique, and not a part of a larger breed group as far as we know now.
Received 9/27/2007