Shetland
Shetland cattle in a pasture |
Country of origin |
Scotland |
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Distribution |
Scotland |
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Use |
Beef, dairy and draft |
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Traits |
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Weight |
Male: 550 kg |
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|
Female: 350 kg |
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Coat |
White spots upon black |
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Horn status |
Horned |
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Cattle Bos primigenius |
Shetland cattle are a small, hardy cattle breed from the Shetland Isles, located off the northeast coast of Scotland. Shetland cattle possess qualities of thriftiness, productivity and hardiness. These qualities are the result of their region's environment, which is regarded as being one of the harshest in the United Kingdom. The inhabitants of the Shetland Isles, both human and animal, have experienced multiple instances of famine, through which only the most robust individuals survived. Historical documents mention weak cows that needed to be held up by slings in the byres through the winter.[note 1] These cows were important to the survival of the crofters who inhabited the land.[1]
Shetland cattle have become an economical and productive house cow, providing milk and meat for isolated crofters. They are also used as a draught animal for ploughing.
Characteristics
Shetland cattle are usually black and white, similar in colour to the Holstein Friesian breed. However, an estimated 10 percent are red and white, while a small but growing percentage are dun and grey. The cows are typically small, ranging from 350 kg (770 lb)—450 kg (990 lb), while the bulls range from 550 kg (1,210 lb)—600 kg (1,300 lb). Their horns curve upwards, but these are trimmed during commercial production.[2]
History
19th century
In the 19th century, there were 15,000 Shetland cattle on the islands, according to contemporaneous records.[2] All these were likely purebred at the time, but a herd register did not exist. By the 20th century, the number of purebred individuals had dropped to around fifty. This sharp fall was due to the establishment of a shipping line around 1850, thereby allowing the exportation of cattle. Immediately, the mainland market dictated that the biggest animals fetched the best prices and as boats sailed to the mainland with fat stock, they returned with bulls from mainland breeds. Crofters used these bulls, as the bigger beef breed produced a calf that grew rapidly and larger than pure bred Shetlands.[3]
Small Shetland cows could produce a cross–bred suckler cow that would in turn produce a larger calf. The practice of cross breeding, coupled with the lack of agricultural subsidies for the breed, resulted in near extinction of pedigree Shetland cattle by the middle of the 20th century.[4]
20th century
Mechanisation and production of inexpensive chemical fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides enabled food production that was no longer dependent on the natural fertility (or, in the Shetland Islands, infertility) of the land and local climate. Grass grew more rapidly, and the ability of Shetlands to grow steadily on poor, unimproved and unfertilised pastures became unimportant. This was the era of substantial agricultural subsidies and the emergence of agribusiness. Twentieth-century farmers were eager, as their 19th-century predecessors had been, to abandon unproductive cattle in favor of more prosperous pursuits.[5]
John Boyd-Orr's influential studies in the 1930s revealed a deficiency in the "midst of plenty" among the United Kingdom's urban proletariat, whose diet lacked meat.[6] The British nutritional deficiencies of the 1930s improved rapidly during World War II.[7] The effects of rationing during the war, which emphasized optimum rather than minimum standards of feeding, resulted in the availability of beef, previously restricted to the wealthier classes, to the urban working class.[8]
This demand for beef led to the introduction of large continental beef breeds, such as Charolais and Belgian Blue. These breeds fuelled the science of genetic improvement, which aimed to increase growth rates and produce meatier carcasses. The Shetlands, unable to meet the demands of the mass market, seemed even more archaic and anachronistic.
When the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) was formed in 1973, there were very few Shetlands on the isles. Documentation of purebreds had ceased. The RBST worked through the 1970s and identified purebred individuals; in 1981, an annual herd book was once again produced.[9]
The Shetland Cattle Breeder's Association was founded in 2000 by a group of mainland breeders, who were concerned about the vulnerable status of the breed. To ensure that the breed's valuable genetic resources are preserved, the organization hopes to assist its re-establishment by providing assistance to members concerning genetic records, breeding plans, husbandry, and the location of Shetland breeders. The association also provides advertising services for its members.[10]
Present
With the concept of maximum production becoming increasingly unpopular, the year 2005 marked the first time that farmers in Scotland were subsidized not to produce large quantities of cattle, but to manage the countryside with greater attention to environmental benefits. An extra payment is available for conservation grazing by native breeds.[1]
The dominance of large national supermarket chains, and the international livestock market's satisfaction of the demand for beef in the UK, has forced local farmers to diversify and consider alternative ways to obtain revenue. As the market searches for the most economical cattle, the demand has reduced.
Prince Charles, a farmer and meat producer, stated that "[h]igh-quality, locally-reared meat will be treated with the respect and quality of processing it deserves."[11] However, this is a high risk strategy, dependent on a strong economy in which there is conspicuous consumption.
See also
References
Notes
- ↑ "Byre" is a British term for a barn that houses cattle.