 Albera cow near the Tour de la Massane [fr], in the commune of Argelès-sur-Mer. | |
| Conservation status | FAO (2007): endangered-maintained |
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| Other names |
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| Country of origin | Spain, France |
| Distribution | Albera Massif |
| Standard | Departamento de Agricultura, Ganadería, Pesca, Alimentación y Medio Natural (in Spanish) |
| Use | meat, vegetation management |
| Traits | |
| Weight |
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| Height |
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| Coat | variable |
| Horn status | small, half-moon-shaped |
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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.
History
Although the presence of a cattle breed in the Albera Massif was noted in the nineteenth century, the first description of the Albera dates from 1957. At that time three sub-types were distinguished within the breed: a dark-coated type; a variable paler type; and a third type deriving from cross-breeding with Braunvieh stock. More recently, the types are considered to be two: the Negra, or dark type, and the Fagina, or paler type. In 1999 the Fagina type was found to be genetically closer to the Bruna de los Pirineos breed than to the Albera Negra type.
A breeders' association, the Associació de Ramaders de la Vaca de l'Albera, was founded in 2008. The Albera breed received official recognition on 27 July 2011; a breed standard was approved, and a herd book established. At the end of 2014 the total population was recorded as 763, of which 618 were female and 145 male.
Description of the race
The Albera cow lives in almost complete freedom and bases its diet on the vegetation of the forests and meadows within its reach, with a special predilection for the fruits and tender buds of the beech (for this reason it is also called fagina), and at certain times of the year a contribution of supplementary food is made. There are two varieties, the so-called phagina and the black, and between the two they currently do not reach 300 individuals, although the phagin animals predominate more than the black ones.
It is a strong and resistant breed, with a not very relevant meat aptitude, very well adapted to the cold of winter, agile and of small stature, which allows it to move through very rough terrain. This adaptation allows it to be useful in forest clearing and fire prevention.
The head has a massive and elongated appearance, the eyes are prominent and the facial region is elongated. The nose is usually pigmented in black or edged in light. The horns are mostly crescent shaped or short hooked, discrete in size, white with black tips and usually serrated in adults. The neck is long and flattened.
The trunk is flattened, narrow and deep, with a prominent and split cross. The back and loin are poorly muscled and have a tendency to saddle. The belly is voluminous and the rump has a horizontal profile. The tail stud is abundant. The mammary system is rudimentary, covered with fine and long hair.
The limbs are strong, with well-defined joints. The hair is abundant, with great chromatic variety, from black to blond, with gradual discolouration of the lower areas of the trunk, slat, ears, skull base and bangs. The production of calves is very poor, as a calf is born every two years, in the mountains, without the presence of the shepherd.
Needs of the Albera cow
The necessary conditions and infrastructure to be able to install the cow on a farm are: Availability of water (1 point of water every 10 - 40 ha); Food for the winter; Closed to prevent the cow from leaving and to be able to regulate the area we want it to graze; Covered to place sick cows; Determination of the livestock load that can absorb the inheritance, and Hose handling to carry out sanitation and controls.
At the livestock load level, several values are given: Livestock load to qualify for the Aids for the Promotion of Pasture in Undergrowth in Priority Protection Perimeters CR = 0.2 - 1.4 UBM/ha; Livestock load according to FOC Verd II: Forest fire risk management program (Jordi Peix and Masip) CR = 0.34 UBM/ha. With the previous livestock loads, it would be possible to clear the forest, but if what you are looking for is for the cows to be self-sufficient on the farm, you will have to go to lower densities, of the order of one cow every 8 or 10 ha.
Characteristics
- Very defined joints.
- Strong limbs.
- Abundant hair with a lot of color variation.
- They only raise one calf every two years.
- Long, flattened neck.
- Horns in the form of a short hook or half moon.
- Low height
- Low muscled loin.
- Mammary system covered with hair.
Use and management
The Albera is highly resistant to cold, though susceptible to heat, and is well adapted to the steep terrain of the Albera Massif. The cattle are kept year-round in semi-feral conditions, at an altitude between 200 and 1000 metres, foraging for food including the shoots and mast of the beech trees of the massif. They have little contact with man, and little productive capacity: cows calve every two years, and produce barely enough milk for the calf; meat yield is very low, of the order of 35–40%. The cattle are used in vegetation management: by clearing undergrowth they help to prevent forest fires.
References
- Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (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: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
- ^ Breed data sheet: Albera/Spain. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed January 2016.
- ^ Raza bovina Albera: Datos Morfológicos (in Spanish). Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente. Accessed January 2016.
- Raza bovina Albera: Datos Generales (in Spanish). Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente. Accessed January 2016.
- ^ 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.
- ^ J. Jordana, J. Piedrafita, X. Carre, A. Martell (1999). Conservation genetics of an endangered Catalonian cattle breed (" Alberes"). Genetics and molecular biology 22 (3): 387–394.
- Estatuts (in Catalan). Associació de Ramaders de la Vaca de l'Albera. Accessed January 2016.
- (9 August 2011). Orden AAM/189/2011, de 27 de julio, por la que se crea el Libro genealógico de la raza bovina Albera y se aprueba la reglamentación especíica y su estándar racial (in Spanish). Diari Oicial de la Generalitat de Catalunya 5938: 44602–610.
- Raza bovina Albera: Datos Censales (in Spanish). Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente. Accessed January 2016.
- Raza bovina Albera: Usos y sistema de explotación (in Spanish). Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente. Accessed January 2016.
| Cattle breeds of Spain | |||||
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| These are the cattle breeds considered in Spain to be wholly or partly of Spanish origin. Inclusion here does not necessarily imply that a breed is predominantly or exclusively Spanish. | |||||
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