The Red Angus is an international 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 ...

characterised by a reddish-brown coat colour. It derives from the Scottish

Aberdeen Angus The Aberdeen Angus, sometimes simply Angus, is a Scotland, Scottish List of cattle breeds, breed of small beef cattle. It derives from cattle native to the Scottish counties, counties of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeen, Banffshire, Banff, ...

population and is identical to it in all but coat colour. Red Angus are registered separately from black Angus cattle in Australia, Canada, and the United States.

History

The Scottish

Angus Angus may refer to: *Angus, Scotland, a council area of Scotland, and formerly a province, sheriffdom, county and district of Scotland * Angus, Canada, a community in Essa, Ontario Animals * Angus cattle, various breeds of beef cattle Media * ...

is usually black, but red individuals occur; this may be the consequence of

cross-breeding A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. A domestic animal of unknown ancestry, where the breed status of only one parent or grandparent is known, may also be called a crossbreed though ...

in the eighteenth century of the small Scottish cattle with larger

English Longhorn The Longhorn or British Longhorn is a British breed of beef cattle characterised by long curving horns. It originated in northern England, in the counties of Lancashire, Westmorland and Yorkshire, and later spread to the English Midlands and to ...

stock, aimed at increasing their draught power. In the United States, these red individuals could until 1917 be registered in the herdbook of the American Angus Association. From about 1945, some herds consisting only of red-coated stock were formed. In 1954 a

breeders' association Breed clubs are associations or clubs with activities centered on a single, specific breed of a particular species of domesticated animal. The purpose of the association will vary with the species of animal and the goals and needs of the members ...

, the Red Angus Association of America, was established at a meeting in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

. The registered population in 2008 numbered about head, making it the fifth beef breed by number in the United States; American Angus, Charolais,

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

and Simmental were more numerous. In Australia, breeders of the red variant proposed a scheme for registration of their stock with the Angus Society of Australia; it was not accepted, and in 1970 they formed the Red Angus Society of Australia. The Red Angus is reported to

DAD-IS DAD-IS is the acronym for the Domestic Animal Diversity Information System, a tool developed and maintained by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations as a part of its programme for management of animal genetic resources for ...

by Australia, Cuba, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, Slovenia and the United States; its global

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 ...

is "not at risk".

Use

The Red Angus is a

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...

breed, and is reared only for that purpose. Comparative trials have not identified any commerciallysignificant difference between it and the American Angus. Bulls have been used as sires for

crossbreeding A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. A domestic animal of unknown ancestry, where the breed status of only one parent or grandparent is known, may also be called a crossbreed though ...

. The Red Angus is a parent breed to the Regus (cross-breeding with

) and to the RX3 (a mixture of Hereford, Red Angus and Red Holstein).

References

Cattle breeds originating in Australia Cattle breeds originating in the United States {{bots, deny=Citation bot