The Valais Blackneck is a

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 goat from the

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

of Valais, in southern Switzerland, and neighbouring areas of northern Italy. The largest concentration is in the area of Visp (Viège). It is present in modest numbers in Austria and Germany. It is known by many names, including german: Walliser Schwarzhalsziege, italic=no or ; french: Col Noir du Valais, italic=no, or ; and it, Vallesana, italic=no or . The Valais Blackneck has a distinctive colouring, black from the nose to behind the shoulder and white from there to the tail. The English Bagot goat is similarly coloured, and has been thought to derive from this breed by descent from one presented to

Richard II of England Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father die ...

in 1387; DNA studies have shown that the Bagot originated in Spain. Within Italy, the Vallesana is raised in the provinces of Verbania and Vercelli. It is one of the forty-three autochthonous Italian goat 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- and goat-breeders. At the end of 2013 the total numbers for the breed were 3000–3400 in Switzerland and either 191 or 446 in Italy. In 2012 Austria reported 100–300 head and Germany 429.

References

{{Goat breeds of Italy, state=autocollapse Goat breeds Dairy goat breeds Meat goat breeds Goat breeds originating in Switzerland