Brentegana

The Brentegana is an Italian breed of sheep from the provinces of Trento and Verona in northern Italy.[3] The name derives from that of the comune of Brentonico, the area where the breed is thought to have originated. Two distinct types are known: the Brentegana Scelta or Brentegana Trentina, a large heavy meat/wool type; and the Brentegana Comune, a medium-sized type more suitable for milk production.[4]: 192  It is one of the forty-two autochthonous local sheep breeds of limited distribution for which a herdbook is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep-breeders.[5]

Brentegana
Conservation status
Other names
  • Brentegana Scelta
  • Brentegana Trentina
  • Brentegana Comune
Country of originItaly
StandardMIPAAF
Typelop-eared Alpine
Use
  • Scelta: dual-purpose, meat and wool
  • Comune: milk
Traits
Weight
  • Male:
    • Scelta: 90–100 kg
    • Comune:
  • Female:
    • Scelta: 70–80 kg
    • Comune: 53 kg
Height
  • Male:
    • Scelta: 90–95 cm
    • Comune:
  • Female:
    • Scelta: 80–85 cm
    • Comune: 71 cm
Wool colourwhite
Face colourwhite
Horn statushornless in both sexes

History

The ancestry of the breed is not clear: it has been suggested that it derives from the Lamon from the province of Belluno,[5][6]: 770  but this is disputed.[4]: 192  It originated in the area to the east of Lake Garda; it is named for its supposed area of origin, the comune of Brentonico in the province of Trento, but is also associated with Monte Baldo and the comuni of Affi and Caprino Veronese in the province of Verona.[4]: 192 [6]: 770 

The traditional management of the Brentegana was transhumant; flocks were moved the high pastures of the Monte Baldo in May, remaining there until October, when they were brought down and stabled for the winter, feeding on hay; in spring they were moved to lowland pastures in the area of Verona until the return to the mountains for the summer.[4]: 192 

In 2013 total numbers for the breed were not recorded.[7] A population of 14 was reported in 2005.[3] The conservation status of the breed was listed as "critical" by the FAO in 2007;[1]: 68  in 2020 it was reported to DAD-IS as "at risk".[2]

Characteristics

The Brentegana is of lop-eared Alpine type, a polled upland sheep with convex profile and lop ears. It is entirely white.[6]: 770  It is well adapted to survival in the marginal mountain environment of its area of origin.[6]: 770 

Two distinct types are known: the Brentegana Scelta or Brentegana Trentina, a large heavy meat/wool type; and the Brentegana Comune, a medium-sized type more suitable for milk production.[4]: 192  Rams of the Scelta type may weigh 100 kg, and stand almost a metre at the withers.[4]: 193 

References
  1. 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.
  2. Breed data sheet: Brentegana / Italy (Sheep). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed December 2020.
  3. Breed data sheet: Brentegana/Italy. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed September 2013.
  4. Daniele Bigi, Alessio Zanon (2008). Atlante delle razze autoctone: Bovini, equini, ovicaprini, suini allevati in Italia (in Italian). Milan: Edagricole. ISBN 9788850652594.
  5. Le razze ovine e caprine in Italia (in Italian). Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia: Ufficio centrale libri genealogici e registri anagrafici razze ovine e caprine. p. 45 (this page mis-titled "Bagnolese"). Accessed September 2013.
  6. 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.
  7. Consistenze Provinciali della Razza F3 Brentegana Anno 2013 (in Italian). Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia: Banca dati. Accessed September 2013.
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