Bruna dels Pirineus

Not to be confused with Brune (cattle breed).

Bruna dels Pirineus

Cows in the comarca of Ripollès
Conservation status	FAO (2007): not at risk DAD-IS (2024): not at risk
Other names	Spanish: Bruna de los Pirineos
Country of origin	Spain
Distribution	northern Catalonia
Standard	Departament d'Agricultura, Ramadería i Pesca (in Spanish)
Use	Formerly: triple-purpose, meat, milk and draught Now: mainly meat
Traits
Weight	Male: 1050 kg Female: 600 kg
Height	Male: 142 cm Female: 140 cm
Coat	greyish-brown
Horn status	horned
Cattle Bos (primigenius) taurus

Cows near Bescaran in the comarca of Baixa Cerdanya

The Bruna dels Pirineus, Spanish: Bruna de los Pirineos, is a Spanish breed of cattle from the south-eastern Pyrenees, in the northern part of Catalonia. It derives from cross-breeding of local cattle with Swiss Braunvieh stock imported in the nineteenth century through France and through the Val d'Aran. It is distributed throughout the northern comarcas of Catalonia, Alta Ribagorça, Alt Urgell, Berguedà, Cerdanya, Pallars Jussà, Pallars Sobirà, Ripollès, Solsonès and Val d'Aran. The Bruna dels Pirineus constitutes about 80% of the beef herd of Catalonia.

History

The Bruna dels Pirineus derives from cross-breeding of local cattle of the Catalana (now extinct), the Pallaresa and the Pirenaica breeds with Swiss Braunvieh stock imported in the nineteenth century through France and through the Val d'Aran. The first written documentation of these importations is from 1922, but there is evidence going back to 1880 of imports to help satisfy the demand for milk for butter manufacture in Cerdanya.

In the 1970s specialised meat breeds, Charolais and Limousin, were imported to Catalonia, but did not adapt successfully to the mountain environment. From the 1980s breeding of the Bruna dels Pirineus, which is well adapted to that environment, began to be oriented more towards meat production. A number of local breeders' associations were formed; a federation of these breeders' associations, the Federació Catalana de la Raça Bruna dels Pirineus, was formed in 1990. In the same year a breed standard was approved and a herd book was established by the Generalitat de Catalunya. The Bruna dels Pirineus breed received official national recognition on 7 November 1997, when it was classified among the breeds "at risk of extinction" by the Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente, the Spanish ministry of agriculture.

At the end of 2014 the total population was recorded as 13542, of which 12421 were female and 1121 male.

Use and management

The Bruna dels Pirineus, like the Braunvieh, was initially a triple-purpose breed, used as a draught animal and for milk and meat production. It later became dual-purpose, for meat and dairy use, and then became predominantly a meat breed. It constitutes about 80% of the beef herd of Catalonia.

Management is generally extensive, with transhumance from the valleys to higher mountain pasture in the summer months.