Prince Charles visits South Wales

Prince Charles has been learning about efforts to save White Park Cattle from extinction.

HRH the Prince of Wales visited Dinefwr Park in Llandeilo this afternoon.

White Park Cattle have grazed the land in Wales for more than 1000 years but today there are just 750 breeding females left in the world.

This makes White Park Cattle rarer than the Giant Panda.

The National Trust wants to urgently increase the number of cows in the Dinefwr herd not only to save this animal from extinction, but to safeguard important links to Welsh history and to help sustain rare wildflower hay meadows.

History of White Park Cattle

The first recorded evidence in Wales can be traced back to the Laws of Hywel Dda, King of the old Welsh Kingdom of Deheubarth who lived between 880 and 950.

Hywel Dda had all the old laws of Wales collated to produce the first codified work of laws to govern Wales as one nation.

The old laws revealed that White Park Cattle were often used to pay fines and indicated a long-established tradition of this distinctive breed being used as currency.

Prince Charles is due to meet with school children and ex-service personnel on a tour of South Wales today.

The Prince of Wales will meet with Cwmbran school children taking part in a climate change education programme run by the charity, Size of Wales,

He will then go on to visit ex-service personnel in Nantgarw, before heading west where he will learn about efforts to save White Park Cattle from extinction at Dinefwr Park, Llandeilo.