Aberdeen Angus
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The Aberdeen Angus, sometimes simply Angus, is a Scottish
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 small
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 operat ...
. It derives from cattle native to the
counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
of
Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
, Banff, Kincardine and
Angus Angus may refer to: Media * ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film * ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record'' Places Australia * Angus, New South Wales Canada * Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario * East Angus, Quebec Scotland * An ...
in north-eastern
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. In 2018 the breed accounted for over 17% of the UK beef industry. The Angus is naturally polled and solid black or red, although the
udder An udder is an organ formed of two or four mammary glands on the females of dairy animals and ruminants such as cattle, goats, and sheep. An udder is equivalent to the breast in primates and elephantine pachyderms. The udder is a single mass han ...
may be white. The cattle have been exported to many countries of the world; there are large populations in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South America and the United States, where it has developed into two separate and distinct breeds, the
American Angus The American Angus is an American breed of beef cattle. It derives from the Scottish Aberdeen Angus population, but may only be black. Red-coated individuals may not be registered with the American Angus Association, but can be registered as Re ...
and
Red Angus The Red Angus is an international breed of beef cattle characterised by a reddish-brown coat colour. It derives from the Scottish Aberdeen Angus population and, apart from the coat colour, is identical to it. Red Angus are registered separatel ...
. In some countries it has been bred to be taller than the native Scottish stock. Its
conservation status The conservation status of a group of organisms (for instance, a species) indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing conservation ...
worldwide is "not at risk"; in the United Kingdom the original Native Aberdeen Angus – cattle not influenced by cross-breeding with imported stock – is listed by 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 ...
as "at risk".


History

Aberdeen Angus cattle have been recorded in north-eastern Scotland since at least the sixteenth century. For some time before the 1800s, the hornless cattle in
Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...
and
Angus Angus may refer to: Media * ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film * ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record'' Places Australia * Angus, New South Wales Canada * Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario * East Angus, Quebec Scotland * An ...
were called ''Angus doddies''. In 1824,
William McCombie William McCombie MP (1805 – 1 February 1880), was a leading Scottish cattle breeder and agriculturist; he was also known as "the grazier king" or the "king of graziers". Life Born at Tillyfour Farm in Aberdeenshire, the home of his father, C ...
of Tillyfour, later the
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
for West Aberdeenshire, began to improve the stock and is regarded today as the father of the breed. Many local names emerged, including ''doddies'' or ''hummlies''. The breed was officially recognised in 1835, and was initially registered together with 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 i ...
in the Polled Herd Book. A society was formed in 1879. The cattle became commonplace throughout the
British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
in the middle of the twentieth century.


Argentina

As stated in the fourth volume of the Herd Book of the UK's Angus, this breed was introduced to Argentina in 1879 when "''Don'' Carlos Guerrero" imported one bull and two cows for his ''Estancia'' "Charles" located in Juancho,
Partido de General Madariaga Partido, partidista and partidario may refer to: * Spanish for a political party, people who share political ideology or who are brought together by common issues Territorial subdivision * Partidos of Buenos Aires, the second-level administrative ...
,
Provincia de Buenos Aires Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...
. The bull was born on 19 April 1878; named "Virtuoso 1626" and raised by Colonel Ferguson. The cows were named "Aunt Lee 4697" raised by J. James and "Cinderela 4968" raised by R. Walker and were both born in 1878, on 31 January and 23 April respectively.


Australia

Angus cattle were first introduced to
Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sepa ...
(now Tasmania) in the 1820s, and to the southern mainland in 1840. The breed is now found in all Australian states and territories with 62,000 calves registered with Angus Australia in 2010.


Canada

In 1876 William Brown, a professor of agriculture and then superintendent of the experimental farm at
Guelph, Ontario Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Welli ...
, was granted permission by the government of Ontario to purchase Aberdeen Angus cattle for the
Ontario Agricultural College The Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) originated at the agricultural laboratories of the Toronto Normal School, and was officially founded in 1874 as an associate agricultural college of the University of Toronto. Since 1964, it has become affili ...
. The herd comprised a yearling bull, Gladiolus, and a cow, Eyebright, bred by the Earl of Fife and a cow, Leochel Lass 4th, bred by R.O. Farquharson. On 12 January 1877, Eyebright gave birth to a calf, sired by Sir Wilfrid. It was the first to be born outside of Scotland. The OAC went on to import additional bulls and cows, eventually began selling Aberdeen Angus cattle in 1881.


United States

On 17 May 1873, George Grant brought four Angus bulls, without any cows, to
Victoria, Kansas Victoria is a city in Ellis County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,129. History A group of British colonists led by a Scotsman named George Grant founded Victoria in 1873 on land he had purchas ...
. These were seen as unusual as the normal American cattle consisted of
Shorthorn The Shorthorn breed of cattle originated in the North East of England in the late eighteenth century. The breed was developed as dual-purpose, suitable for both dairy and beef production; however, certain blood lines within the breed always emp ...
s and Longhorns, and the bulls were used only in crossbreeding. However, the farmers noticed the good qualities of these bulls and afterwards, many more cattle of both sexes were imported. On 21 November 1883, the
American Angus Association The American Angus is an American breed of beef cattle. It derives from the Scottish Aberdeen Angus population, but may only be black. Red-coated individuals may not be registered with the American Angus Association, but can be registered as Re ...
was founded in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
. The first herd book was published on March 1885. At this time both red and black animals were registered without distinction. However, in 1917 the Association barred the registering of red and other coloured animals in an effort to promote a solid black breed. The Red Angus Association of America was founded in 1954 by breeders of Red Angus cattle. It was formed because the breeders had had their cattle struck off the herd book for not conforming to the changed breed standard regarding colour.


Germany

A separate breed was cross bred in Germany called the
German Angus The German Angus (german: Deutsch Angus, italic=no) is a modern German breed of beef cattle. It was bred in the 1950s in Germany by crossing Aberdeen Angus with various native German cattle breeds: German Black Pied, Deutsche Rotbunte, and Fleckv ...
. It is a cross between the Angus and several different cattle such as the
German Black Pied Cattle German Black Pied cattle are a breed of dairy cattle that originated in the North Sea coast regions of northern Germany and the Netherlands. Until the 18th century, cattle of diverse colours were bred in these regions. After 1750, the black pied ...
,
Gelbvieh Gelbvieh (, German for "yellow cattle") is a cattle breed originating in several Franconian districts of Bavaria, Germany in the mid-eighteenth century. It was originally a triple-purpose breed, used for milk, beef and draught power; the mode ...
, and
Fleckvieh The Fleckvieh is a breed of dual-purpose cattle suitable for both milk and meat production. It originated in Central Europe in the 19th century from cross-breeding of local stock with Simmental cattle imported from Switzerland. Today, the worl ...
. The cattle are usually larger than the Angus and appear in black and red colours.


Characteristics

Because of their native environment, the cattle are very hardy and can survive the Scottish winters, which are typically harsh, with snowfall and storms. Cows typically weigh and bulls weigh . Calves are usually born smaller than is acceptable for the market, so crossbreeding with dairy cattle is needed for veal production. The cattle are naturally polled and black in colour. They typically mature earlier than other native British breeds such as the
Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...
or North Devon. However, in the middle of the 20th century a new strain of cattle called the Red Angus emerged. The United States does not accept Red Angus cattle into herd books, while the UK and Canada do. Except for their colour genes, there is no genetic difference between black and red Angus, but they are regarded as different breeds in the US. However, there have been claims that black angus are more sustainable to cold weather, though unconfirmed. The cattle have a large muscle content and are regarded as medium-sized. The meat is very popular in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
for its marbling qualities.


Genetic disorders

There are four
recessive In genetics, dominance is the phenomenon of one variant (allele) of a gene on a chromosome masking or overriding the effect of a different variant of the same gene on the other copy of the chromosome. The first variant is termed dominant and t ...
defects that can affect calves worldwide. A recessive defect occurs when both parents carry a recessive gene that will affect the calf. One in four calves will show the defect even when both parents carry the defective gene. The four recessive defects in the Black Angus breed that are currently managed with DNA tests are arthrogryposis multiplex (AM), referred to as ''curly calf'', which lowers the mobility of joints; neuropathic hydrocephalus (NH), sometimes known as ''water head'', which causes an enlarged malformed skull; contractural arachnodactyly (CA), formerly referred to by the name of "fawn calf syndrome", which reduces mobility in the hips; and
dwarfism Dwarfism is a condition wherein an organism is exceptionally small, and mostly occurs in the animal kingdom. In humans, it is sometimes defined as an adult height of less than , regardless of sex; the average adult height among people with dw ...
, which affects the size of calves. Both parents need to carry the genes for a calf to be affected with one of these disorders. Because of this, the American Angus Association will remove the carrier cattle from the breed in an effort to reduce the number of cases. Between 2008 and 2010, the American Angus Association reported worldwide
recessive genetic disorders A genetic disorder is a health problem caused by one or more abnormalities in the genome. It can be caused by a mutation in a single gene (monogenic) or multiple genes (polygenic) or by a chromosomal abnormality. Although polygenic disorders ...
in Angus cattle. It has been shown that a small minority of Angus cattle can carry
osteoporosis Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disorder characterized by low bone mass, micro-architectural deterioration of bone tissue leading to bone fragility, and consequent increase in fracture risk. It is the most common reason for a broken bone ...
. A further defect called notomelia, a form of
polymelia Polymelia is a birth defect in which an affected individual has more than the usual number of limbs. It is a type of dysmelia. In humans and most land-dwelling vertebrates, this means having five or more limbs. The extra limb is most commonly shr ...
("many legs") was reported in the Angus breed in 2010.


Uses

The main use of Angus cattle is for
beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantity ...
production and consumption. The beef can be marketed as superior due to its marbled appearance. This has led to many markets, including Australia, Japan and the United Kingdom to adopt it into the mainstream. Angus cattle can also be used in
crossbreeding 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 ...
to reduce the likelihood of
dystocia Obstructed labour, also known as labour dystocia, is the baby not exiting the pelvis because it is physically block during childbirth although the uterus contracts normally. Complications for the baby include not getting enough oxygen which may ...
(difficult calving), and because of their dominant polled gene, they can be used to crossbreed to create polled calves.


See also

* List of cattle breeds originating in Scotland


References

{{Authority control Beef cattle breeds Cattle breeds Cattle breeds originating in Scotland Red cattle