Breed society
An association of breeders that keeps a breed's herd book, sets its standard and promotes it.
Also: breed association, breeders' association
A breed society is a body, usually run by its member breeders, that looks after one breed. It keeps the herd book, writes the breed standard describing what a typical animal should look like, registers calves, runs shows and sales, and in many cases records milk yield or growth. The Hereford, Jersey and Holstein societies of Britain and the United States date from the nineteenth century, and societies now exist on every continent. Some breeds have societies in many countries linked by a world federation. For rare breeds, the society and its members may be all that keeps the breed alive, sometimes alongside national gene banks.