Betizu

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,[4][5] and by the Conservatoire des Races d'Aquitaine in France.[6]

Betizu
Bull on the slopes of Xoldokogaina
Conservation status
  • France: FAO (2007): critical[1]:41
  • Spain: FAO (2007): endangered[1]:106
Other namesBetizuak[2]:130
Country of origin
  • Spain
  • France
Distribution
StandardGobierno de Navarra (in Spanish)
Use
  • meat
  • vegetation management
Traits
Weight
  • Male:
    400–500 kg[2]:130
  • Female:
    300–350 kg[2]:130
Height
  • Male:
    130 cm[2]:130
  • Female:
    120 cm[2]:130
Skin colourcreamy white[3]:61
Coatrusset brown
Horn statushorned
  • Cattle
  • Bos (primigenius) taurus

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.[7]

History

The origins of the Betizu are unknown. The name betizu derives from the Basque: behi izua, "elusive cow", and distinguishes it from the extebehi or "house cow".[3]:59[8] It appears in Basque mythology as Zezengorri ("red bull"), guardian of the treasure of the goddess Mari.[9]

The Betizu is sometimes believed to be the remnant of an ancient Pyrenean cattle population adapted to survive in marginal mountain terrain;[3]:60 or it may derive from animals lost or escaped during the annual transhumance.[2]:130 The betizu has also been known by different authors and in different locations as the "vaca del país", "casta navarra" and "raza vasca". José Miguel de Barandiarán has referred to it as the "vaca huraña".[9][10]

In 2013 the breed population in Navarra was estimated at 254,[10] while the number in Aquitaine was put at less than 150.[6]

The Government of Navarre has launched a project to conserve this autochthonous breed. They own a herd that inhabits the abandoned village of Sastoya, in the Urraúl Alto valley. The stated goal of the project is to protect and expand this breed.

The Sastoya village encompasses more than 80 hectares (200 acres), of which 12 hectares (30 acres) are grasslands. It is inside the area of Ecological Production and is property of the Government of Navarra. It is managed by their Environment Department. The facility includes several warehouses to manage the livestock.

The Sastoya reservation houses about 45 animals. Reservation workers limit their contact with the animals in order to preserve their wild nature.[11]

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 2017.
  2. Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 9781780647944.
  3. Miguel Fernández Rodríguez, Mariano Gómez Fernández, Juan Vicente Delgado Bermejo, Silvia Adán Belmonte, Miguel Jiménez Cabras (editors) (2009). Guía de campo de las razas autóctonas españolas (in Spanish). Madrid: Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Medio Rural y Marino. ISBN 9788449109461.
  4. Raza bovina Betizu: Datos Generales (in Spanish). Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación. Accessed June 2019.
  5. "BOE n. 279 de 21/11/1997".
  6. "La Vache Betizu" [The Betizu Cow]. Conservatoire des Races d'Aquitaine. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  7. Marleen Felius (1995). Cattle Breeds: An Encyclopedia. Doetinchem, Netherlands: Misset. ISBN 9789054390176.
  8. Betizu (in Spanish). Euskal Abereak. Archived 31 August 2013.
  9. Mikel Muez (7 January 2006). Las últimas vacas salvajes de Europa (in Spanish). El País. Archived 19 July 2012.
  10. "Betizu". ITG Ganadero. Archived from the original on 1 January 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2013.
  11. [s.n.] (23 March 2018).El Gobierno de Navarra desarrolla un proyecto para comercializar la carne de raza autóctona vacuna "Betizu" (in Spanish). Gobierno de Navarra – Nafarroako Gobernua. Archived 14 June 2019.
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