The Belted Galloway is a traditional Scottish breed of

beef cattle Beef cattle are cattle raised for meat production (as distinguished from dairy cattle, used for milk production). The meat of mature or almost mature cattle is mostly known as beef. In beef production there are three main stages: cow-calf opera ...

. It derives from the

Galloway cattle The Galloway is a Scottish breed of beef cattle, named after the Galloway region of Scotland, where it originated during the seventeenth century. It is usually black, is of average size, is naturally polled and has a thick coat suitable for ...

of the

Galloway Galloway ( ; sco, Gallowa; la, Gallovidia) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway. A native or ...

region of south-western

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, and was established as a separate breed in 1921. It is adapted to living on the poor

upland pasture Upland pasture (rough grazing and/or semi-natural rough grazing) is a type of semi-natural grassland located in uplands of rolling foothills or upon higher slopes, greater than 350 meters (1148.29 feet) and less than 600 meters (1968.50 feet) from ...

s and windswept moorlands of the region. The exact origin of the breed is unclear, although the white belt for which they are named, and which distinguishes the breed from black Galloway cattle, is often surmised to be the result of

cross-breeding A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. ''Crossbreeding'', sometimes called "designer crossbreeding", is the process of breeding such an organism, While crossbreeding is used to main ...

with the similarly-coloured Dutch Lakenvelder breed. Belted Galloways are primarily raised for their quality marbled beef, although they are sometimes milked or kept for ornament.

History

The Belted Galloway derives from the traditional

of the

region of south-western

, which in turn form part of a broader group of traditional Scottish cattle including the

Aberdeen Angus The Aberdeen Angus, sometimes simply Angus, is a Scottish breed of small beef cattle. It derives from cattle native to the counties of Aberdeen, Banff, Kincardine and Angus in north-eastern Scotland. In 2018 the breed accounted for over ...

and

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

breeds. Galloways are most often black, but other colours occur; the white-belted or white-middled Galloway being one of them. The origin of the white belt is unknown; it is thought to have resulted from some

with Dutch Lakenvelder cattle in the seventeenth century. From 1852, both Aberdeen Angus and Galloways could be registered in a

herd-book A breed registry, also known as a herdbook, studbook or register, in animal husbandry and the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeders ...

for polled cattle. A separate Galloway herd-book was established in 1878. In 1921, a group of breeders set up the Dun and Belted Galloway Association, which – as the name suggests – registered both belted and dun-coloured Galloway cattle; its first herd-book was published in 1922. In 1951 registration of dun cattle was discontinued, and the society changed its name to the Belted Galloway Society. In the twentieth century, Belted Galloways were exported to many countries including Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United States. Breed societies were started in New Zealand in 1948, in the US in 1951, and in Australia in 1975. Like other breeds, the Belted Galloway suffered heavily during the epidemic of foot-and-mouth disease in the British Isles in 2001, and a substantial part of the total population was lost. By 2007, numbers had recovered to the point where it could be removed from the endangered native breed watchlist of the

Rare Breeds Survival Trust The Rare Breeds Survival Trust is a conservation charity whose purpose is to secure the continued existence and viability of the native farm animal genetic resources (FAnGR) of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1973 by Joe Henson to pres ...

; in the same year the global breed population was listed by the

FAO The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

as "not at risk". In 2012, there were approximately 3,500 registered breeding cows in the United Kingdom. It is listed by the

American Livestock Breeds Conservancy The Livestock Conservancy, formerly known as the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) and prior to that, the American Minor Breeds Conservancy, is a nonprofit organization focused on preserving and promoting rare breeds, also known as "h ...

as a "recovering" breed, which means there are more than 2,500 annual registrations in the United States and a global population greater than 10,000, but they were once on the "watch" list. About 18,390 cattle were registered in the US in 2015.

Characteristics

Galloway cattle are naturally polled (without horns). The most visible characteristics are its long hair coat and the broad white belt that completely encircles its body. Its coarse outer coat helps shed the rain, and its soft undercoat provides insulation and waterproofing, enabling the breed to spend winter outside. Black Belteds are the most prominent, but Dun and Red Belteds are also recognised by breed societies, the latter being comparatively rare and sought after. A female Belted Galloway cannot be registered in the

Herd Book A breed registry, also known as a herdbook, studbook or register, in animal husbandry and the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breede ...

if it has white above the

dewclaw A dewclaw is a digit – vestigial in some animals – on the foot of many mammals, birds, and reptiles (including some extinct orders, like certain theropods). It commonly grows higher on the leg than the rest of the foot, such that in digit ...

other than the belt, but can be registered in the Appendix. A bull can only be registered in the Herd Book if it has no other white than the belt. The dun colour is caused by a mutation in the ''PMEL'' gene, the same mutation that causes dun and silver dun in Highland cattle. The black and red coat colours are caused by the same alleles of the ''MC1R'' gene, E^D for black and e/e for red, as in most other breeds of cattle. Bulls weigh from , with the average being around . Cows weigh from , with the average being around . Calves generally weigh around for females and for males at birth. Belted Galloways are generally of a quiet temperament, but still maintain a maternal instinct and protect calves against perceived threats. They are well-suited for rough grazing land and will use coarse grasses other breeds would shun. They are able to maintain a good condition on less than ideal pasture, and produce high-quality beef on grass alone. They have on occasions attacked people.

Use

The Belted Galloway is reared mainly for beef; it may also be used for

vegetation management Conservation grazing or targeted grazing is the use of semi-feral or domesticated grazing livestock to maintain and increase the biodiversity of natural or semi-natural grasslands, heathlands, wood pasture, wetlands and many other habitats.

. An old strain is listed as the "Original Belted Galloway Cattle" in the

Ark of Taste The Ark of Taste is an international catalogue of endangered heritage foods which is maintained by the global Slow Food movement. The Ark is designed to preserve at-risk foods that are sustainably produced, unique in taste, and part of a distin ...

of the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity.

Gallery

File:Belted galloway bull.jpg, Belted Galloway bull in Denmark File:Belted galloway bei neukoog nordstrand.JPG, Belted Galloway in Nordfriesland File:Belted Galloway P8250176.JPG, Beltie calf in Nordfriesland File:Belted Galloways.jpg, Belted Galloways in the

Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales is an upland area of the Pennines in the historic county of Yorkshire, England, most of it in the Yorkshire Dales National Park created in 1954. The Dales comprise river valleys and the hills rising from the Vale of York w ...

File:Male_Belted_Galloway_Calf.jpg, A young belted galloway in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, UK.

References

{{Scottish animal breeds Conservation Priority Breeds of the Livestock Conservancy Cattle breeds originating in Scotland Dairy cattle breeds Cattle breeds