Terreña

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.[2]

Terreña
Terreña cow near Zumaia, in Gipuzkoa
Conservation statusFAO (2007): endangered[1]:106
Other namesBasque: Behi terreña
Country of originSpain
Distribution
StandardConsejero de Agricultura y Pesca (in Basque and Spanish)
Use
  • formerly: triple-purpose, meat, milk and draught
  • now: meat
  • also: idi probak (arrastre de piedra)
Traits
Skin colourblack
Coatbrown
Horn statushorned
  • Cattle
  • Bos (primigenius) taurus
Yoked pair of Terreño oxen (date unknown)

History

The Terreña originates in the northern part of the province of Álava and the southern part of that of Bizkaia; some are found in the comarca of Enkarterri in Bizkaia, and there are some localised populations in Gipuzkoa. The Terreña was formerly found in large numbers, and was the most numerous breed in these areas; in the mid-twentieth century there were over 15,000 head.[3]:158 The industrialisation of agriculture and depopulation of rural areas in the latter part of that century led to an acute fall in numbers,[3]:158 and in 1991 the population was reported to be 208 head.[4] Conservation efforts began in the 1990s. The Terreña breed received official recognition on 9 December 2003.[3]:158

The Terreña is among the breeds classified as "at risk of extinction" by the Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente, the Spanish ministry of agriculture.[2] At the end of 2014 the total population was recorded as 2474, of which 2260 were female and 214 male.[5]

Use and management

The Terreña was formerly a triple-purpose breed, used as a draught animal and for milk and meat production, but is now raised only for meat. Terreño oxen were in the past used in the traditional Basque rural sport of idi probak, or stone-pulling.[3]:158[6]

The cattle are traditionally managed extensively, ranging freely on mountain pasture from April to November, and spending the winter months at pasture in the neighbouring valleys.[3]:159

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. Raza bovina Terreña: Datos Generales (in Spanish). Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente. Accessed January 2016.
  3. 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.
  4. Breed data sheet: Terreña/Spain. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed January 2016.
  5. Raza bovina Terreña: Datos Censales (in Spanish). Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente. Accessed January 2016.
  6. Raza bovina Terreña: Usos y sistema de explotación (in Spanish). Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente. Accessed January 2016.
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