Pirenaica

Last updated

Pirenaica
Vacas pirenaicas Hualde...jpg
Pirenaica cows near Ezcároz in Navarre
Conservation status FAO (2007): not at risk [1] :106
Other names Basque: Behi-gorri [2]
Country of originSpain
Distributionnorthern Catalonia
Standard Confederación de Asociaciones de Ganado Vacuno Pirenaico (in Spanish)
UseMainly meat
Traits
Weight
  • Male:
    800 kg [3]
  • Female:
    525 kg [3]
Height
  • Male:
    150 cm [3]
  • Female:
    132 cm [3]
Coatwheaten
Horn statushorned
  • Cattle
  • Bos (primigenius) taurus
Pirenaica cows at pasture in the comarca of Baztan in Navarre Raza bovina pirenaica cropped.jpg
Pirenaica cows at pasture in the comarca of Baztán in Navarre

The Pirenaica, Basque : Behi-gorri, is a breed of beef cattle indigenous to the Pyrenees of north-eastern Spain. It is distributed mainly in the autonomous communities of Navarre and the Basque Country, but is present in much of the northern part of the country. It is well adapted to the mountainous terrain and humid climate of the area. It came close to extinction in twentieth century, but is not now at risk.

Contents

History

The origins of the Pirenaica are uncertain. In the past it was the predominant cattle breed of northern Spain. A herd book was opened in Gipuzkoa in 1905, the first of its kind in Spain; [4] :136 [5] :388 in 1925 a herd book was opened in Navarre also. [4] :136 However, from about the turn of the twentieth century, large-scale importation of Braunvieh cattle from Switzerland began to threaten the breed; while at first these were pure-bred, they soon began to be cross-bred with the Pirenaica to improve meat and milk yield. In 1912 a census of cattle in Gipuzkoa found about 50,000 head, of which less than 40% were pure-bred Pirenaica stock; the remainder were Braunvieh and Braunvieh-Pirenaica crosses, in roughly equal proportions. [5] :388 In 1954 there were 18,000 head, [6] :114 but by the 1970s the Pirenaica was close to extinction. [4] :135 [5] :390 In 1974 it had disappeared from the Basque Country, with the exception of about 40 head in Gipuzkoa; [7] [8] in Navarre about 1500 head remained, of which about 1000 were in the valley of Aezkoa. [5] :390

In the 1970s the Diputación Foral  [ es ] of Navarre began a programme of recovery of the Pirenaica breed. A number of regional breeders' associations were set up; a national federation of these breeders' associations, the Confederación de Asociaciones de Ganado Vacuno Pirenaico  [ es ], was formed in 1988. At the end of 2014 the total population was recorded as 40,026, of which 34,806 were female and 5,220 were male. [2] [9] Of these, about 50% were in Navarre and 25% in the Basque Country; there were substantial populations in Aragón, Cantabria and Castilla León, and smaller numbers in Catalonia, the Comunitat Valenciana, Extremadura, La Rioja, Madrid and the Principado de Asturias.

The Pirenaica is classified among the "autochthonous breeds in development" by the Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente, the Spanish ministry of agriculture, and thus not at risk of extinction. [10]

Use and management

The Pirenaica was formerly a triple-purpose breed, used as a draught animal and for milk and meat production. [4] :136 While breeding selection is now wholly towards meat production, Pirenaica oxen may sometimes be used in the traditional rural sport of arrastre de piedra , or stone-dragging. [11]

Related Research Articles

Sayaguesa cattle breed

The Sayaguesa is an endangered Spanish breed of domestic cattle. It is named for the comarca of Sayago in the province of Zamora, in the western part of the autonomous community of Castile and León, and is raised almost exclusively in that area. It may also be known as the Zamorana, the Moles de Sayago or the Castellana variedad Sayaguesa. It was traditionally kept mainly for draught work, but is now raised principally for meat.

Hispano-Árabe horse breed

The Hispano-Árabe is a Spanish horse breed originating from the cross-breeding of Arab and Andalusian horses.

Asturian Mountain cattle cattle breed

Asturian Mountain is a local Spanish breed of cattle, which possess breeding capacity and docility. They are primarily raised in the east of Asturias, in the north of Spain, particularly in the mountain range of the Picos de Europa, including within the National Park of Covadonga. The breed is also known as the Casina They are beef cattle and one of three breeds used to produce Casín cheese.

Mallorquín Spanish breed of horse from Mallorca in the Balearic Islands

The Mallorquín or Caballo Mallorquín is a rare breed of horse indigenous to the island of Mallorca in the Balearic Islands, from which it takes its name. Identification of the breed was begun in 1981 by the Patronato para las Razas Autóctonas de Mallorca. The Mallorquín is listed in the Catálogo Oficial de Razas de Ganado de España in the group of autochthonous breeds in danger of extinction.

Basque breeds and cultivars

There are a number of Basque breeds and cultivars. These are domesticated animals that have been bred - or plant species cultivated - for particular traits and features by Basque people in the Basque Country.

Catalan donkey

The Catalan donkey is a breed of large domestic donkey from Catalonia, in north-eastern Spain and south-western France. Approximately 80% of the population is in Catalonia, and approximately 20% is in Northern Catalonia.

Rubia Gallega Spanish breed of cattle

The Rubia Gallega, Galician: Rubia Galega, is a breed of cattle native to the autonomous community of Galicia in north-western Spain. It is raised mainly for meat. It is distributed throughout Galicia, with about 75% of the population concentrated in the province of Lugo. The coat may be red-blond, wheaten, or cinnamon-coloured.

Andalusian donkey

The Andalusian, Spanish: Asno Andaluz, is a Spanish breed of domestic donkey. It is native to the province of Córdoba in Andalusia, and may also be known as the Asno Cordobés after the city of Córdoba or the Asno de Lucena because of its alleged origin in the town of Lucena, Córdoba. It is an endangered breed, and is classified by the Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación, the Spanish agriculture ministry, as an "autochthonous breed in danger of extinction".

Tudanca cattle

The Tudanca is a traditional Spanish breed of cattle from Cantabria, in northern Spain. It takes its name from the village of Tudanca in the Comarca de Saja-Nansa in western Cantabria. In the past it was a draught breed, much used for transport of goods to and from the ports of the Cantabrian coast; it is now reared for meat, but is still used in traditional sport of arrastre de piedra, or "stone-dragging". Despite its geographic proximity, it is not closely related to the other cattle breed of Cantabria, the Pasiega.

Betizu

The Betizu is a breed of small mountain cattle which live in a semi-feral state in some mountainous parts of the Basque Country in both Spain and France. It is classified as an endangered breed by both the Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación, the agriculture ministry of Spain, and by the Conservatoire des Races d'Aquitaine in France.

Zamorano-Leonés Spanish breed of donkey

The Zamorano-Leonés is a breed of large domestic donkey from the provinces of Zamora and León, in the autonomous community of Castilla y León, in north-western Spain. The name derives from those of the two provinces.

Asno de las Encartaciones

The Asno de las Encartaciones, Basque: Enkarterriko asto, is a breed of small domestic donkey from the western part of the autonomous community of the Basque Country, in north-east Spain. It is named for the comarca of Las Encartaciones (Enkarterri), in the province of Biscay (Bizkaia). It is the only small donkey breed of Spain, and resembles the Gascon donkey, now a sub-type of the Pyrenean donkey. The Asno de las Encartaciones is critically endangered, and is protected by conservation measures.

Balearic donkey breed of domestic donkey

The Balearic donkey, Catalan: 'Ase Balear', Spanish: 'Asno Balear', is a breed of domestic donkey indigenous to the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands, in the Mediterranean off the eastern coast of Spain. Although found mainly in Mallorca, the largest island of the group, it is found also in Menorca, where it was much used for mule-breeding; it is no longer present in the islands of Eivissa and Formentera. It is officially called the Catalan: 'Raça Asenca Balear'; until 2006 the breed was known as the Raça Asenca Mallorquina, and was also referred to as the Ase MallorquÍ, Asno Mallorquín or Mallorquin donkey.

Majorera donkey Spanish breed of donkey

The Majorera is an endangered breed of small domestic donkey indigenous to the Canary Islands, the Spanish archipelago in the Atlantic off the coast of southern Morocco. There are approximately 200 of the donkeys; almost all are on the island of Fuerteventura, with a small number on Lanzarote. The name derives from majorero, a demonym for the people of Fuerteventura. The Majorera is a small donkey of African origin, and is the only equine breed of the archipelago.

The Pasiega is a traditional Spanish breed of red dairy cattle from the autonomous community of Cantabria in northern Spain. It originated in the Valles Pasiegos in south-eastern Cantabria. The name derives from that of the Pas River, which flows through that region. Because of the colour of its coat it may also be known as the Roja Pasiega or Rojina.

Terreña Spanish breed of cattle

The Terreña, Basque: Behi terreña, is an endangered breed of mountain cattle indigenous to the autonomous community of the Basque Country in northern Spain. It is distributed mostly in the provinces of Álava and Bizkaia, with some localised populations in Gipuzkoa.

Palmera cattle cattle breed

The Palmera is an endangered breed of cattle from the island of San Miguel de La Palma, in the Spanish autonomous community of the Canary Islands. The cattle are not indigenous to the island, but were brought by European settlers in the fifteenth century. The Palmera derives from the Rubia Gallega breed of Galicia. It is distributed mostly in the municipalities of Breña Alta, Breña Baja, El Paso, Garafía, Los Llanos de Aridane and Villa de Mazo, with small numbers in the municipalities of Puntagorda, Santa Cruz de La Palma and Tijarafe; a few may be found on the islands of Fuerteventura and Tenerife.

Menorquina cattle cattle breed from Menorca

The Menorquina is an endangered breed of cattle from the Mediterranean island of Menorca, in the Spanish autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. It belongs to the group of convex-profiled red cattle, whose distribution across the northern Mediterranean region is thought to have followed the path of the Bell-Beaker Culture. It is one of only two autochthonous Spanish breeds of dairy cattle, the other being the Pasiega. The milk is particularly suitable for cheese production, and is used to make Mahón cheese, which has DOP status.

Albera (cattle)

The Albera is an endangered breed of small cattle indigenous to the Albera Massif, which divides Catalonia from France and lies partly in the comarca of Alt Empordà in the Catalan province of Girona, and partly in the comarca of Vallespir in the French département of Pyrénées-Orientales. The cattle are highly resistant to cold, though susceptible to heat, and are well adapted to the steep terrain of the massif.

Bruna dels Pirineus cattle breed

The Bruna dels Pirineus, Spanish: 'Bruna de los Pirineos', is a breed of cattle from the south-eastern Pyrenees, in the northern part of Catalonia. It derives from cross-breeding of local cattle with Swiss Braunvieh stock imported in the nineteenth century through France and through the Val d'Aran. It is distributed throughout the northern comarcas of Catalonia, Alta Ribagorça, Alt Urgell, Berguedà, Cerdanya, Pallars Jussà, Pallars Sobirà, Ripollès, Solsonès and Val d'Aran. The Bruna dels Pirineus constitutes about 80% of the beef herd of Catalonia.

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 January 2016.
  2. 1 2 Breed data sheet: Pirenaica/Spain. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed January 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Raza bovina Pirenaica: Datos Morfológicos (in Spanish). Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente. Accessed January 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Miguel Fernández Rodríguez, Mariano Gómez Fernández, Juan Vicente Delgado Bermejo, Silvia Adán Belmonte, Miguel Jiménez Cabras (eds.) (2009). Guía de campo de las razas autóctonas españolas (in Spanish). Madrid: Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Medio Rural y Marino. ISBN   9788449109461.
  5. 1 2 3 4 José Antonio Mendizábal Aizpuru, F. J. Aranguren, Paola Eguinoa Ancho, Antonio Purroy Unanua, A. Arana (1998). Evolución de la morfología en la raza vacuna Pirenaica (in Spanish). Archivos de zootecnia47 (178): 387–395.
  6. M.H. French, I. Johansson (1969). Razas Europeas de Ganado Bovino, volume II (in Spanish). Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
  7. Teófilo Echevarria Belzunegui (1975). Raza vacuna pirenaica: evolución, situación actual y perspectivas (doctoral thesis, in Spanish). Pamplona: Diputación Foral de Navarra. (not consulted).
  8. Teófilo Eceheverría Belzunegui (in Spanish); in: Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia. Usurbil: Eusko Ikaskuntza - Basque Studies Society. Accessed January 2016.
  9. Raza bovina Pirenaica: Datos Censales (in Spanish). Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente. Accessed January 2016.
  10. Raza bovina Pirenaica: Datos Generales (in Spanish). Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente. Accessed January 2016.
  11. Raza bovina Pirenaica: Usos y sistema de explotación (in Spanish). Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente. Accessed January 2016.