From 6th to 8th May 2023, Dobrudzha agricultural Institute attended the 11th National Festival of Sheep Breeders in Bulgaria, which is taking place annually since 2013 near Petropavlovski monastery in the vicinity of Arbanasi village, Veliko Tarnovo region. It is organized by the National Festival of Sheep Breeders in Bulgaria Association, Heritage for the Future Foundation, the National Association of Sheep and Goat Breeders, and the Dairy Sheep Breeding Association, with the kind assistance of the Veliko Tarnovo, Lyaskovets and Gorna Oryahovitsa Municipalities and with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture of Bulgaria. This festival is one of a kind and size not only in Bulgaria but also on the Balkan Peninsula. It has no analogues in Europe.
DAI presented 6 elite young animals – 3 rams and three sheep aged up to 18 months from the North-eastern Bulgarian fine-fleeced breed, acknowledged as a new Bulgarian breed as early as 1974. This breed has been preserved and maintained to day due to the breeding efforts of Dobrudzha Agricultural Institute. For over 50 years now, DAI is making special efforts and cares for breeding and maintaining the only herd of this valuable sheep, which has been threatened by extinction.Recently, the animal breeding experts are paying special attention to fine-fleeced sheep breeding since it is the foundation for developing of meat sheep breeds. The assessment of Executive Agency for Breeding and Breeding Association for Dairy Sheep, which performs annual rating of animals, is that DAI carries out “first class breeding of the fine-fleeced sheep”. 
Dobrudzha Agricultural Institute is participating annually in national animal breeding exhibitions primarily with elite young male animals of the North-eastern Bulgarian fine-fleeced breed and has been awarded numerous prices for elite young rams. The aim of the participation in such forums is to revive the interest of the Bulgarian animal breeders to this breed, which is especially favorable for production of meat, milk and wool.
