breed
A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...
of domestic sheep from the mountains of Piemonte in north-west Italy. It is raised in the provinces of Biella, Cuneo and Turin, particularly in the area of Biella and the Valsesia. It apparently derives from the
Biellese
The Biellese is a breed of large domestic sheep indigenous to the province of Biella, in Piedmont in north-western Italy, from which it takes its name. It may also be known as the Razza d'Ivrea, after the town of Ivrea, or as the Piemontese ...
, from which it is distinguished by its short ears. 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 Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, or roughly "national association of pastoralists", is the Italian national body responsible for the administration of sheep- and goat-breeding. It maintains the herd books for more than a hundred in ...
, the Italian national association of sheep-breeders.
In 1983 the population was estimated at 100 head, and in 2000 it was 1,950. In 2013 the total number for the breed was 5,350.