Rare Waipu Goats Need Your Help

At present, Waipu Goats are rarer than the iconic Kakapo - the world's only nocturnal parrot who is struggling to survive . Waipu Goats are likely to be descendants of the original Angora goats that were brought to New Zealand in the late 1800s. They carry unique genetics found nowhere else in the world. They survived in Northland in the bush around Waipu for over 100 years before the New Zealand Department of Conservation decided to try to eradicate them from the wild. Some were captured before the eradication attempt took place and these unique goats are now kept in captivity by dedicated members of the Rare Breeds Conservation Society of New Zealand. There are less than 40 of these goats alive today and probably none left in the wild.

For more information about these unique goats please visit http://www.rarebreeds.co.nz/waipu.html

We would like to cryopreserve a small number of embryos of these goats. If we don't do this and a disease or natural disaster kills the few goats we have, there is no way of bringing them back. The Waipu goats' genetics may well turn out to be essential for the future of the breed - and for the future of the mohair industry. We have already stored semen in Genebank but we need to safeguard the female line as well.

With your donation you make an invaluable contribution to the conservation of a heritage breed that only exists in New Zealand.