Shepherds in Germany have started a marathon, four-country relay trek to draw attention to the role of mobile herding in maintaining biodiversity and grassland in Europe.The trek began on 5 June with a rally under the Brandenburger Gate in the heart of Berlin. It will take in Paderborn (1 August), Duisburg (21 August), Maaseik in the Netherlands, before reaching Brussels in Belgium on 17 September. The trek will pass through the Ardennes in Belgium and through Luxembourg before ending in Trier on 16-17 October.The League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development is joining the German Shepherds' Association in activities along the route. Press release (English) Press release (German) More information (German) Photos Website of German Shepherds' Association (German)

Imagine if all cows were black and white... if all the pigs were pink... if every sheep, and every chicken, were white...This booklet draws attention to the threat to local livestock breeds, and describes what the Local Livestock for Empowerment (LIFE) Network is doing to help pastoralists and small-scale livestock keepers to maintain them.LIFE Network. 2010. Local Livestock for Empowerment: The LIFE Network. Ober-Ramstadt, Germany. Download 1.7 Mb

After some delay, the 2008 and 2009 annual reports of the League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development are now online. Click here to read them.

International conference on Livestock Keepers' Rights and BiodiversityLichtenberg Castle, Odenwald, 19 May 2010. On 19 May 2010, the League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development organized a conference on Livestock Keepers' Rights and biodiversity in the historic Lichtenberg Castle in the Odenwald, Germany.The conference included presentations and discussions by livestock keepers and specialists from Germany, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Spain and Tanzania. Download conference report 1 Mb (in German) Download press release 37 kb (in German) Article in Echo Online (Darmstadt newspaper) on visit by Indian herders to Germany (in German) Article in Echo Online on Lichtenberg conference (in German)