DEATHWATCH:Rare Animals
Louis Epstein
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Foot & Mouth Treatens Rare Species
by ANTHONY DEUTSCH
Associated Press Writer
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) -- Several rare species of cows,
goats and sheep -- familiar from 16th century paintings by Dutch
masters -- are threatened with extinction by the foot-and-mouth
epidemic that has struck the Netherlands.
For some species, the few remaining specimens could be caught up
in the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of animals in efforts to
contain the virulent livestock disease. On Friday, the last 100
Schoonbeker sheep left in the world are due to be destroyed.
Only a handful of these varieties still survive on protected
national parks and farms, Some have already been slated for
``preventive clearing,'' or the killing of healthy animals to build
a firewall against the ailment.<p>
``We have been struggling for years to keep populations up. This
would be a fatal blow,'' said Robert Moens of the Society for the
Preservation of Nature. The society said it would ask a judge to
prevent the killing of special animals. Protection groups say 19
endangered species are threatened by foot-and-mouth.
The rare cows are usually named for their markings, which
distinguish them from common dairy or beef cattle. Names such as
Lakenvelder, Brandrood and Groningen Blaarkop -- Dutch Belted,
Burned Red and Whitehead -- have come to have come to symbolize more
than just a farming heritage.
``It's a piece of our culture,'' said Anno Fokkinga, author of
books on rare Dutch livestock. ``It would be a real shame if they
disappeared, only to be seen in paintings.''
The animals were common in the famed landscape paintings of 16th
and 17th century Dutch artists, such as Pieter Brueghel, Paul
Potter and Albert Cuyp.
The Netherlands has uncovered 15 cases of foot-and-mouth. The
disease is not a danger to humans. But it can cause great economic
damage since it lowers animals' milk and meat production and
spreads easily.
AP-NY-04-05-01 1529EDT