The Irish Moiled

The Irish Moiled is a breed of cattle that comes from Nortnern Ireland and in the 1980s the population had fallen dramatically to about 20 cows. Thankfully the breed has been revived through the efforts of the the Irish Moiled Cattle Society formed in 1926 to develop and improve the breed. In 1982 the Society itself was revived with the encouragement of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Since then the breed has enjoyed valuable research and guidance from both the Trust and the Genetics Department of Liverpool University and the Society now has a well established DNA testing programme to ensure validity of pedigrees and the integrity of this important gene pool. In 2008 a breed conservation strategy was launched and it is hoped that this strategy will help maintain the genetic base of the breed.