Armoricaine

The Armoricaine was created in the nineteenth century by cross-breeding animals of the local Froment du Léon and the now-extinct Pie Rouge de Carhaix breeds with imported Durham (now known as Shorthorn) stock from the United Kingdom.^[4][5] A herd-book was started in 1919,^[2] and the Armoricaine breed name came into use in 1923.^[6]

The Armoricaine was used, with Meuse-Rhine-Issel and Rotbunt stock, in the creation of the Pie Rouge des Plaines breed of dairy cattle in the 1960s.^[7] In the later twentieth century it became rare; by 1978 there were no more than forty cows remaining. Following the discovery of a reserve of frozen semen in the 1980s, a programme of recovery was launched.^[3]: 113 In 2001 there were 61 cows registered, and 10 bulls; semen from 18 bulls was preserved and available for artificial insemination.^[5]

The breed was listed by the FAO as "critically endangered" in 2007.^[1]: 136 The population was estimated in 2005 to be in the range 230–248 head,^[4] and in 2020 was reported as 301 cows on 81 farms.^[8] The population reported for 2023 was 1799 head in 82 farms; this included 597 breeding cows and 50 active bulls.^[2] The conservation status of the breed in 2025 was "at risk/endangered-maintained".^[2]

The coat is red, with some white markings. The horns are short. Cows weigh about 650 kg, and stand about 138 cm at the withers.^[2]

The Armoricaine is a dual-purpose breed, and may be raised both for meat and for milk. Cows produce some 4500 kg of milk in a lactation of about 305 days.^[4] The young grow quickly, and mature animals fatten fast.^[8]