Old Gloucester

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Old Gloucester
FAO (2007): endangered-maintained[1]: 119 
  • DAD-IS (2022): endangered[2]
  • RBST (2022): priority[3]
    • Other names
    • Gloucestershire
    • Gloucester
    Country of originUnited Kingdom
    StandardGloucester Cattle Society
    Use
    • formerly triple-purpose, draught/milk/meat
    • now dual-purpose, milk/meat
    Traits
    Weight
    • Male:
      average 857 kg[2]
    • Female:
      average 583 kg[2]
    Height
    • Male:
      average 143 cm[2]
    • Female:
      average 129 cm[2]
    Horn statushorned; de-horning permitted
  • Bos (primigenius) taurus

    • The Old Gloucester or Gloucester is a traditional British

    endangered breed, and its conservation status is listed as "priority" by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust
    .

    History

    The Gloucester is a traditional breed of the

    Glamorgan, now extinct.[4]: 188  It was originally a triple-purpose breed, reared for its milk, for beef and for draught use.[5]

    It remained in widespread use until the eighteenth century, when numbers began to decline as a result of competition with both the Longhorn and the Shorthorn; numbers remained low throughout the nineteenth century.[4]: 188 

    The breed received official recognition from the

    Second World War.[4]
    : 188 

    Some efforts were made to increase the competitiveness of the Gloucester: in 1929

    Jersey.[4]
    : 188 

    In 1950 the

    Dukes of Beaufort, the largest in the country, was sold off, as was the herd of Colonel Elwes.[7] Only two herds remained, the Bathurst herd at Cirencester Park and that of the Dowdeswell family at Wick Court; together they numbered about fifty head.[7] In 1966 the Bathurst stock was sold off, and the breed society became dormant; in 1972 the Wick Court herd, the last remaining, was also dispersed.[4]
    : 188 

    In 1973 the Gloucester Cattle Society was revived under the patronage of

    herd-book was started; the first volume, printed in 1975, listed about seventy cattle, including twelve originating in the Bathurst herd.[7] Some cattle were exhibited at the Three Counties Show in 1974.[7]

    The number of breeding cows had risen to about 500 by 2007.[4]: 189  In 2008 the breed was listed by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust as "at risk".[8] In 2021, the trust reported that the number of herds had fallen from 54 to 26 between 2006 and 2020;[9] in its 2021–2022 watchlist it listed the Gloucester as "priority".[3]

    The Old Gloucester is included in the

    Slow Food Foundation.[10]

    Characteristics

    The Gloucester is of medium size, cows standing some 500–600 kg at the

    mahogany or black-brown on the body, with black legs and head, and with characteristic white finching along the spine, down through the tail, and along the belly; bulls are generally darker than cows.[4]: 189  Since 1972 colour has been considerably more variable, ranging from light red to black.[4]: 189  The horns are white and spreading, with upturned black tips.[5]

    Use

    The average milk yield is about 3860 litres per

    Protected Designation of Origin status, which required that the cheese be made in Gloucestershire,[4]: 189  and either did[5] or did not require that the milk used be from Gloucester cows.[4]
    : 189 

    References

    Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gloucester cattle.
    1. ISBN 9789251057629
      . Archived 23 June 2020.
    2. ^ a b c d e Breed data sheet: Gloucester / United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Cattle). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed February 2022.
    3. ^ a b Watchlist 2021–22. Kenilworth, Warwickshire: Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Archived 31 January 2022.
    4. ^
      ISBN 9781780647944
      .
    5. ^ a b c d e f Gloucester. Kenilworth, Warwickshire: Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Archived 20 April 2021.
    6. ISBN 9789054390176
      .
    7. ^ a b c d Origins. Chipping Norton: Gloucester Cattle Society. Accessed February 2022.
    8. ^ Watchlist. Kenilworth, Warwickshire: Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Archived 31 July 2008.
    9. ^ a b [s.n.] (11 April 2021). Gloucester cattle breed at increased risk of extinction. BBC News. Accessed February 2022.
    10. ^ Old Gloucester Cattle: Ark of taste. Bra, Cuneo: Fondazione Slow Food per la Biodiversità Onlus/Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity. Accessed February 2022.

    Further reading

    • Adam Stout (1980). The Old Gloucester: the story of a cattle breed. Gloucester: Alan Sutton.
      ISBN 9780904387421
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