Rare Breed Survival Trust

In the latter months of 2011, Paul Davis proposed to the RBST that the Isle of Man would make an ideal sanctuary to house examples of the very rarest breeds of British farm animals. This measure would serve as a protection against their extinction in the event of a calamitous outbreak of disease on the mainland.

Ruth Dalton (Northern Field Officer) and Richard Broad (Southern Field Officer) embraced the project with infectious enthusiasm and made several visits to the Island to put the plan into motion. There are four key initiatives that our team planned to initiate:

(1)    The establishment of specialised rare breeds farms under the stewardship of the Davis family;

(2)    identification of existing rare breeds stocks on the Isle of Man;

(3)    encouragement and support of other Manx farmers in maintaining rare breeds as part of their enterprise; and

(4)    educational activities surrounding rare breeds on the Isle of Man, as part of the cultural heritage.

Evidence of the success of all four of these initiatives will be found on the pages of this website.

The Isle of Man Post Office has shown their support by issuing a series of Rare Breeds postage stamps in 2014, featuring endangered animals, including several actually living on the Island.