Russia wants to resume maintaining a state register of animal breeds.

The document was submitted to the State Duma by a group of deputies from the lower house. As the authors explain, after the federal law on seed production (No. 454-FZ) entered into force in September 2023, only the State Register remains, which only includes varieties and hybrids of agricultural plants approved for use. The State Register of Breeding Achievements Approved for Use, which pertains to animal breeds, was discontinued on September 1 of last year.

At the same time, the State Register of Breeding Achievements contained information on animal breeds that had been bred since the beginning of 1993 – both imported and domestically bred.

"The loss of this data will have a negative impact on the overall genetic resource base for livestock breeding, which in turn will not contribute to the effective development of livestock breeding," the deputies noted.

The bill proposes to resume maintaining a database of all breeding achievements in livestock breeding.

The authors of the document point out that today in Russia there is no official list of breeds, which does not allow for more comprehensive breeding work across breeds and their categories, which include types and cross-lines.

Following the adoption of the initiative, the Russian Ministry of Agriculture will be granted the authority to establish a list of animal species and breeds used in breeding.