Ciuta sheep
| Conservation status | FAO (2007): extinct[1] |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | Italy |
| Distribution | province of Sondrio |
| Use | meat |
| Traits | |
| Weight | Male: 35–40 kg[2] |
| Female: 30–35 kg[2] | |
| Height | Male: 45-50 cm[2] |
| Female: 40–45 cm[2] | |
| Wool color | straw-white |
| Face color | white |
| Horn status | horned in both sexes |
|
Sheep Ovis aries | |
The Ciuta is or was a breed of small mountain sheep from the province of Sondrio, in Lombardy in northern Italy.[3] There has been no census of the breed since 1983, and it may be extinct; a small number were identified in 2001.[2] It originates in the mountainous terrain of the Val Masino and the Valchiavenna, in an area where Lombard is spoken; ciuta means "little sheep" in the local language. It probably has common origins with the Ciavenasca breed from the same area. It is raised only for meat; the wool is of very poor quality, and the milk is sufficient only for the lambs.[2] The breed is not recognised by the Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali, the Italian ministry of agriculture and forestry, and is not among the forty-two autochthonous local sheep breeds of limited distribution for which a herdbook is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep-breeders.[4]
The breed was listed as "extinct" by the FAO in 2007.[1]
References
- 1 2 Barbara Rischkowsky, D. Pilling (eds.) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to The State of the World’s Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Accessed May 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Daniele Bigi, Alessio Zanon (2008). Atlante delle razze autoctone: Bovini, equini, ovicaprini, suini allevati in Italia (in Italian). Milan: Edagricole. ISBN 9788850652594. p. 200–201.
- ↑ Breed data sheet: Ciuta/Italy. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed May 2014.
- ↑ Le razze ovine e caprine in Italia (in Italian). Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia: Ufficio centrale libri genealogici e registri anagrafici razze ovine e caprine. Accessed May 2014.