Massey135
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What is a breed? by Roy Wallace and Harlan Ritchie
http://beefmagazine.com/mag/beef_breed
"What is a breed? Is there really such a thing as a purebred?
Let's begin by defining what a breed is. The late Hilton Briggs, the quintessential authority on breeds and author of the book, "Modern Breeds of Livestock," defined a breed as: "a group of animals that, as a result of breeding and selection, have certain distinguishable characteristics."
Briggs goes on to define a purebred animal as "an individual both of whose parents are duly registered in a Registry Association."
It's interesting to note that Briggs says nothing about "breed purity" or "percentage of blood" in either definition. If one delves back into livestock history, it can be concluded that very few populations of so-called "purebred" cattle existed. Rather, nearly all breeds were developed by combining various strains of cattle within a region into a generally agreed-upon type.
British breeds
The Shorthorn breed was created by selecting the best of the native, short-horned cattle in northeast England and infusing them with a small amount of Galloway blood. The Hereford breed was developed by infusing the native cattle of Herfordshire in southwest England with Flemish cattle imported from the low countries in Europe.
Shorthorn blood is reported to have been introduced into the Angus breed at an early stage of its existence. And the Red Poll breed originated in the English countries of Norfolk and Suffolk where some Galloway and Devon breeding eventually found its way into the breed.
As near as can be determined, two British breeds appear to have remained free of outside blood — Galloway and West (Scotch) Highland.
Galloway originated in southwest Scotland's Galloway province. When the Romans first populated England, cattle roamed the region's forests. These indigenous cattle became the progenitors of the Galloway. Today, Galloway are recognized as the oldest breed of beef cattle in the British Isles."
The article can be read in full at the above link.
http://beefmagazine.com/mag/beef_breed
"What is a breed? Is there really such a thing as a purebred?
Let's begin by defining what a breed is. The late Hilton Briggs, the quintessential authority on breeds and author of the book, "Modern Breeds of Livestock," defined a breed as: "a group of animals that, as a result of breeding and selection, have certain distinguishable characteristics."
Briggs goes on to define a purebred animal as "an individual both of whose parents are duly registered in a Registry Association."
It's interesting to note that Briggs says nothing about "breed purity" or "percentage of blood" in either definition. If one delves back into livestock history, it can be concluded that very few populations of so-called "purebred" cattle existed. Rather, nearly all breeds were developed by combining various strains of cattle within a region into a generally agreed-upon type.
British breeds
The Shorthorn breed was created by selecting the best of the native, short-horned cattle in northeast England and infusing them with a small amount of Galloway blood. The Hereford breed was developed by infusing the native cattle of Herfordshire in southwest England with Flemish cattle imported from the low countries in Europe.
Shorthorn blood is reported to have been introduced into the Angus breed at an early stage of its existence. And the Red Poll breed originated in the English countries of Norfolk and Suffolk where some Galloway and Devon breeding eventually found its way into the breed.
As near as can be determined, two British breeds appear to have remained free of outside blood — Galloway and West (Scotch) Highland.
Galloway originated in southwest Scotland's Galloway province. When the Romans first populated England, cattle roamed the region's forests. These indigenous cattle became the progenitors of the Galloway. Today, Galloway are recognized as the oldest breed of beef cattle in the British Isles."
The article can be read in full at the above link.