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Enderby Island Update

The mission to save genetic material from the rare Enderby Island cattle was 90% successful, according to Hugh Blair, chairman of the Rare Breeds Conservation Society. All but five of the wild cattle were shot in February by Department of Conservation workers as part of restoration plans for the sub-Antarctic island group.

"We got a very good representation, with 1,200 straws of semen from 15 different bulls," says Blair. He was sorry that the island's harsh conditions meant that the attempt to recover fertilised ova was unsuccessful.

Blair hopes to devise a breeding programme crossing the semen with ova from mainland cattle and then breeding for as strong a representation of the original strain as possible.

"The animals are in the freezer at the moment, and we've got to get them on the ground," he says.