Garfagnina Bianca

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Garfagnina Bianca
Conservation status FAO (2007): critical-maintained [1]
Country of originItaly
Distribution Garfagnana, Tuscany
Standard MIPAAF
Usedual-purpose, milk and meat
Traits
Weight
  • Male:
    50–55 kg [2]
  • Female:
    40–45 kg [2]
Height
  • Male:
    65–70 cm [2]
  • Female:
    60–65 cm [2]
Wool colorwhite
Face colorwhite
Horn statushorned in both sexes

The Garfagnina Bianca is a breed of small domestic sheep from the historic area of the Garfagnana, the mountainous northern part of the province of Lucca, in Tuscany in central Italy. [3] [4] It shares common origins with the Cornella Bianca, Massese and Zerasca. [5] [6] It is one of the forty-two autochthonous local sheep breeds of limited distribution for which a herdbook is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep-breeders. [6]

Breed numbers declined drastically in the second half of the twentieth century. In 1961 there were more than 50,000, distributed over much of central Italy; a census in 1983 identified fewer than 50 pure-bred specimens. In 2013 total numbers for the breed were 356. [7]

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The Cornigliese or Corniglio is a breed of domestic sheep from the Apennines of the province of Parma, in Emilia–Romagna in central Italy. It takes its name from the mountain town of Corniglio in that province; it may also be called Borgotarese after the town of Borgo Val di Taro which is about 40 km to the west. It is raised in the provinces of Bologna, Ferrara, Modena, Parma, Ravenna and Reggio Emilia.

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The Istriana or Carsolina, Croatian: 'Istarska Ovca', Slovene: 'Istrska Pramenka', is a breed of domestic sheep from Istria and the Karst regions of the northern Adriatic, from north-east Italy to Croatia and Slovenia.

The Marrana or Marrane is a breed of large sheep from the area of Rezzoaglio, in the Val d'Aveto in the province of Genova, in Liguria in north-west Italy. It was formerly a small breed, with an average weight of about 50 kg; the handful of surviving members of the breed are larger, and show strong morphological similarity to the Bergamasca and the Biellese, to such an extent that the integrity of the breed has been questioned. The Marrana is one of the forty-two autochthonous local sheep breeds of limited distribution for which a herdbook is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep-breeders.

The Nostrana is a breed of sheep from the area of the Passo della Cisa, the Apennine pass which connects the comune of Pontremoli in the province of Massa Carrara, Tuscany, with that of Berceto in the province of Parma, in Emilia–Romagna. The Nostrana appears to be closely related to the Garfagnina Bianca, and probably also to the Cornigliese and Zerasca breeds. It is one of the forty-two autochthonous local sheep breeds of limited distribution for which a herdbook is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep-breeders.

The Saltasassi is an Italian breed of upland sheep, reared for meat. It originates in the provinces of Verbano Cusio Ossola and Novara in the northern part of Piemonte, in north-west Italy. It is one of the forty-two autochthonous local sheep breeds of limited distribution for which a herdbook is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep-breeders.


The Varesina is a rare breed of domestic sheep from the province of Varese in Lombardy, in northern Italy. It originates from the area of Biandronno and Travedona; members of the breed have been identified in the comuni of Albizzate and Arcisate. The Varesina is closely related to the Bergamasca and the Biellese, but is smaller. It is one of the forty-two autochthonous local sheep breeds of limited distribution for which a herdbook is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep-breeders.

The Altamurana is a breed of sheep from the province of Bari, in Puglia in southern Italy. It takes its name from the town of Altamura, in the Murge. It is of Asiatic, possibly Syrian, origin. It is raised mainly in the provinces of Bari and Foggia. It was formerly considered a triple-purpose breed, yielding meat, milk, and wool; it is now kept principally for milk production. It yields approximately 65 kg of milk per lactation, with on average 7.5% fat and 6.5% protein.

The Leccese or Moscia Leccese is a breed of domestic sheep indigenous to the Salento peninsula, in Puglia, southern Italy. Its name derives from that of Lecce, the principal city of the peninsula. Like the Pinzirita and the Altamurana, it belongs to the Zackel sheep group. It is a hardy and frugal breed, usually kept in semi-feral herds, capable of surviving year-round on pasture alone. The wool is normally white and the skin flesh-coloured with darker mottlings. In a small proportion of animals the wool is entirely black, and the skin is also black; these black-skinned sheep are resistant to the effects of the poisonous Hypericum crispum, common in the Salento, which in the white-woolled, pale-skinned sheep causes photosensitivity and thus dermatitis.

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The Roccaverano is an indigenous breed of large domestic goat from the Langhe, in the provinces of Asti and Cuneo, in Piemonte in north-western Italy. It is raised mainly in the Langa Astigiana, mostly within the Comunità montana Langa Astigiana Val Bormida, and is named for the town and comune of Roccaverano in that area. The origins of the breed are unknown.

References

  1. Barbara Rischkowsky, D. Pilling (eds.) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN   9789251057629. Accessed May 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Norme tecniche della popolazione ovina “Garfagnina Bianca”: standard della razza (in Italian). Ministero delle Politiche Agricole, Alimentari e Forestali. Accessed May 2014.
  3. Breed data sheet: Garfagnina Bianca. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed September 2013.
  4. Daniele Bigi (2007). Razze zootecniche in pericolo di estinzione: la pecora Garfagnina Bianca (in Italian). Vita in campagna 2007 (10): 49.
  5. Daniele Bigi, Alessio Zanon (2008). Atlante delle razze autoctone: Bovini, equini, ovicaprini, suini allevati in Italia (in Italian). Milan: Edagricole. ISBN   9788850652594. p. 224–25.
  6. 1 2 Le razze ovine e caprine in Italia (in Italian). Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia: Ufficio centrale libri genealogici e registri anagrafici razze ovine e caprine. p. 58. Accessed September 2013.
  7. Consistenze Provinciali della Razza G2 Garfagnina Bianca Anno 2013 (in Italian). Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia: Banca dati. Accessed September 2013.