Editing Breeding program

{{Short description|Planned breeding of a group of animals or plants}}
{{Single source|date=September 2014}}
[[File:Entrance De Wildt Cheetah Research Centre, South Africa.jpg|thumb|Entrance of ''[[De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Centre]]'' in [[South Africa]]. Breeding programs play a role in the conservation and preservation of the [[cheetah]] and the [[African wild dog]]]]

A '''breeding program''' is the planned [[Selective breeding|breeding]] of a group of [[animal]]s or [[plant]]s, usually involving at least several individuals and extending over several [[generation]]s. There are a couple of breeding methods, such as artificial (which is man made) and natural (it occurs on its own).

According to the [[State Secretary (Netherlands)|Dutch State Secretary]] of [[Ministry of Economic Affairs (Netherlands)|Economic Affairs]] the delivery of young animals is important for the natural behavior of the mother, the herd and is desirable from a veterinary perspective.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/bestanden/documenten-en-publicaties/kamerstukken/2014/03/25/beantwoording-kamervragen-over-fokken-en-doden-van-gezonde-dieren-in-dierentuinen/beantwoording-kamervragen-over-fokken-en-doden-van-gezonde-dieren-in-dierentuinen.pdf |title=Beantwoording vragen over fokken en doden van gezonde dieren in dierentuinen |publisher=Ministry of Economic Affairs (Netherlands) |date=25 March 2014 |access-date=9 June 2014 |language=nl |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714161822/http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/bestanden/documenten-en-publicaties/kamerstukken/2014/03/25/beantwoording-kamervragen-over-fokken-en-doden-van-gezonde-dieren-in-dierentuinen/beantwoording-kamervragen-over-fokken-en-doden-van-gezonde-dieren-in-dierentuinen.pdf |archive-date=2014-07-14 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Breeding programs are commonly employed in several fields where humans wish to change the characteristics of their animals' offspring through careful selection of breeding partners:
*[[Dog]] and [[cat]] [[animal fancy|fanciers]] may coordinate a breeding program to raise the probability of an animal's litter producing a championship-caliber animal.
*Horse breeders try to produce fast [[racehorse]]s through breeding programs.
*Conservationists use breeding programs to try to help the recovery of [[endangered species]] by preserving the existing [[gene pool]] and preventing [[inbreeding]].
*There also can be breeding programs for plants. For instance, a winery owner, seeking to find a better tasting wine, could design a breeding program so that only the vines whose grapes make the very best wine are allowed to breed.

== See also ==
*[[Animal husbandry]]
*[[Captive breeding]]
*[[European Endangered Species Programme]]
*[[Ex-situ conservation|''Ex-situ'' conservation]]
*[[Eugenics]]
*[[Selective breeding]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Breed}}
{{Portal bar|Agriculture|Animals|Plants|Food|Earth sciences}}

[[Category:Plant reproduction]]
[[Category:Livestock]]
[[Category:Breeding]]