A rare British breed which was at the risk of extinction may now have a better future after experts bred a filly using sex-sorted technology in a laboratory. Suffolk Punch foal is the first in the United Kingdom to have been born using modern technology determining its sex. The filly was born in Whitchurch in Shropshire and conceived using sex-sorted sperm. There are fewer than 72 female Suffolk Punches in the UK and fewer than 300 in the world. Rare Yellow Turtle Rescued in Odisha's Balasore District, Pictures Go Viral.

Technology is described as "rarer than the panda". The method makes is easy to select female foals to increase the breeding population quickly. Tullis Matson, owner and managing director of Stallion AI Services where the foal was born said it was "fantastic news" for all rare breeds. He said, "Last year, I think there were about 35 borns, 19 were male and 14 female, so it always tends to be more gender male-heavy and we need more females on the ground so they can breed more." The sex-sorted breeding project was carried out by equine reproduction centre Stallion AI Services with the bovine semen sorting firms Cogent and Sexing Technologies. Rare Baby Dragons Go on Display at Slovenia’s Postojna Cave; See Pictures and Video of Olms Born in 2016.

Suffolk Punch Breed in Laboratory Using Sex-Sorted Technology:

Dr Gareth Starbuck, head of the animal and equine sciences at Nottingham Trent University, which owns the mare that gave birth to the foal said, "The birth of this foal marks a major step towards securing the future of the Suffolk horse and all other rare animal breeds."

The scientists used special equipment to sort the semen of a Suffolk Punch stallion named 'Holbeach Iggy'. They differentiated between the DNA content of individual sperm based on if they carried the male-producing Y genome. Holbeach Iggy is owned by Mike Clarke of Holbeache Farm, in Suffolk, while the mare 'Euston Ruby' is a Suffolk Punch belonging to the Nottingham Trent University. The pair were matched by the university and the Rare Breed Survival Trust based on their pedigree and genetic makeups to minimise the risk of inbreeding and genetic decline as the population of Suffolk Punches is quite rare.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 20, 2020 09:07 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).