Trait Du Nord - Breed Preservation

Breed Preservation

The Trait du Nord is an endangered breed; the Haras de Compiègne (Compiegne Stud), a national stud in France, had a major influence in saving the breed, until it was closed in October 2009. The national breed registry for the Trait du Nord is supported by other local initiatives. However, breed numbers were already low when these initiatives began to be implemented, and media attention on the Trait du Nord is insufficient to maintain economically viable interest. The breed is bred mainly by enthusiasts returning to family farms, but even the number of farms has been decreasing as many young farmers prefer more to breed cattle, which are more lucrative.

Although breed associations and the French National Stud are making efforts to protect the breed, very low numbers persist, and these organizations consider the breed very close to extinction. It is one of the most threatened French horse breeds. The production of horse meat has declined due to a decrease in consumption, and most male foals are neither selected for reproduction nor work. One author says that more alternatives to slaughter are needed and that the steady decline in breed numbers is proof that the breed is slowly disappearing. Beginning in 2011, the Trait du Nord association is working with the North Pas-de-Calais regional council and other groups to increase the number of births by 20 percent by December 2014, and double the number by 2020.

The main breeding areas are located around the former Compiegne Stud and include the departments of Nord, the Pas-de-Calais, the Oise, the Aisne and Somme. A few are found in the central region of Normandy and the Paris area. This breed is found mainly in France and is rarely exported abroad, or only very sporadically with related Belgian and Dutch breeds. A survey of mares in 2008 gave 121 mares in the region of North Pas-de-Calais, 46 in Picardie, 6 in Normandy and one to three mares in the other regions.

Despite efforts to revive interest in the breed, numbers steadily declined in the years before 1988. In 1995, there were 33 stallions in service; in 1996 this number remained the same and by 1998 it had declined to 30. In 2004, there were 111 breeders and 119 Trait du Nord foals were registered. By 2007 and 2008 there were only 17 stallions registered, a number which is exposing the breed to a dangerous increase in inbreeding. To combat this danger, farmers are cross breeding the Trait du Nord with approved Belgian and Dutch horses. The number of farmers breeding the Trait du Nord decreased from 150 to 125 in 2002, then to 92 in 2007 and 86 in 2008. After birth rates remained relatively steady in the 1990s, they began to drop in the 2000s, declining from 176 in 2000 to 100 in 2005 and just 75 in 2007.