BBC News Monday, 20 May, 2002, 15:03 GMT 16:03 UK
By Doreen Walton
BBC World Business Report
Jersey is world famous for its dairy industry, with dairy cows among its best known exports.
But the Jersey cow is in crisis on its home territory as the island is producing more milk than it can consume.
Hundreds of animals are being sold and shipped off the island because for many farmers it is no longer profitable to farm there.
This is raising speculation that the Jersey cow could become an endangered species on the island that gave it its name.
"It is essential for the industry to look at slightly lower volumes to give the optimum return to the producers." says Clive Bishop, Jersey Milk Marketing Board
One of Jersey's best-known farming families, the Richardsons, have bred cows for generations
But Colin Richardson, owner of North Lynn farm, has shipped his cows out to the mainland.
The cost of living in Jersey is high, and Colin's children would rather work in the finance industry or in other jobs which pay more.
"When those lorries started driving down the road it was very difficult and very sad just to see those animals disappear," he said.
"There were families of cows there that we have had for over 100 years."
The problem is that the farms are producing more milk than the island needs.
Clive Bishop, managing director at the Jersey Milk Marketing Board, said some cows have to go to compensate for an increase in milk production over the past few years.
"The commercial returns to the producer are under pressure and it is essential for the industry to look at slightly lower volumes to give the optimum return," he said.
But while cows can leave the island, they can not come back in.
There has been a ban on importing cattle for the last 200 years.
As a result, experts say that as herds are shipped out and the gene pool gets smaller, there could be serious risks of inbreeding.
"We have a bull testing program and obviously once you have found a bull that is superior to all the others then you get a situation where half the island herd is sired by either the specific bull or his sons," said Anne Perchard, president of the World Jersey Cattle Bureau.
"So then you start getting a narrowing of the blood lines and that can be dangerous," she added.
The cows and traditional farming landscape are part of what attracts tourists to Jersey.
Colin Richardson believes much is at risk.
"The (island authorities) are going to have to make up their mind as to whether they want agriculture in Jersey or not, and if they do then they are going to have to support it more," he said.
"If not we are going to have to be allowed to get on and do what we want with our buildings and our land, and I don't want that to happen because we could end up with another Hong Kong over here."
The States of Jersey are taking a relaxed attitude to the future.
Jeanne Le Maistre, president of the island's Agriculture and Fisheries Committee, doesn't believe that Jersey's image as a rural paradise is at risk.
"I don't think it's at threat at the moment but it could change," he said.
"I think we have to look at the countryside and say what do we find? And I think we enjoy the sight of fields, the hedgerows, the walks through the countryside, the green lanes and I think that is very precious and I think we should be protecting it," he added.
As Jersey's dairy industry is scaled down the remaining cows are to be concentrated in fewer, larger farms.
The States of Jersey will decide what can be done with the farms that lie empty.
This process could have a lasting impact on Jersey's landscape and its future as a tourist destination.