The origin of the Criollo cattle of the Americas is described. Then a review is given of the Criollo in each of a number of different Latin American countries with their present known performances, their geographical distributions, numbers and improvement programmes.

The organization of animal genetic conservation activities in Scandinavia is described, giving the motives, methods, problems, financial organization and future proposals, and showing how the five countries cooperate in international preservation plans.

The native sheep of Sri Lanka is described, and its growth and reproductive parameters under traditional management systems are reported. The need to evaluate this sheep under optimal nutritional and husbandry conditions is highlighted.