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Basque breed of cattle From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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,[6][7] and by the Conservatoire des Races d'Aquitaine in France.[8]
Bull on the slopes of Xoldokogaina | |
| Conservation status | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Betizuak[4]: 130 |
| Country of origin |
|
| Distribution | |
| Standard | Gobierno de Navarra (in Spanish) |
| Use | |
| Traits | |
| Weight |
|
| Height | |
| Skin colour | creamy white[5]: 61 |
| Coat | russet brown |
| Horn status | horned |
| |
It is one of a small number of semi-feral cattle populations in Europe, with the Albera of the Pyrenees, the Monchina of Cantabria, and the Raço di Biòu of the Camargue.[9]
The origins of the Betizu are unknown. The name betizu derives from the Basque: behi izua, 'elusive cow', and distinguishes it from the etxebehi or 'house cow'.[5]: 59 [10] It appears in Basque mythology as Zezengorri ('red bull'), guardian of the treasure of the goddess Mari.[11]
The Betizu is sometimes believed to be the remnant of an ancient Pyrenean cattle population adapted to survive in marginal mountain terrain;[5]: 60 or it may derive from animals lost or escaped during the annual transhumance.[4]: 130
In the twenty-first century it is an endangered breed, and in Navarre was listed as such in 2003. At about the same time the Government of Navarre established a conservation herd at the finca of Sastoia in Urraúl Alto, in the comarca of Lumbier; management of the herd was later handed over to the Instituto Navarro de Tecnologías e Infraestructuras Agroalimentarias.[12]
In 2013, the breed population in Navarre was estimated at 254,[13] while the number in Aquitaine was put at less than 150.[8] In 2023 a total of 1267 head was reported from Spain, including 688 cows and 50 bulls registered in the herd-book, distributed over 41 herds;[3] for France a population of 80–100 head was reported.[2] The conservation status for Spain was listed as "at risk/endangered", while for France it was "at risk/critical".[3][2]
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