Churra Galega Bragançana Branca
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| Conservation status | |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | Portugal |
| Distribution | District of Bragança |
| Use | lamb, mutton |
| Traits | |
| Weight | |
| Height | |
| Wool colour | white or cream, with black markings on face and legs |
| Horn status | males usually horned, ewes polled |
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The Churra Galega Bragançana Branca is a Portuguese breed of domestic sheep. It originates in, and is raised in, the Terra Fria Transmontana in the District of Bragança in north-eastern Portugal, on the border with the Spanish autonomous community of Galicia. It is one of four churra sheep breeds in the district of Bragança, the others being the Churra da Terra Quente, the Churra Galega Bragançana Preta and the Churra Galega Mirandesa.
The Churra Galega Bragançana Branca is a traditional rural breed of north-eastern Portugal, belonging to the widespread churra or coarse-wool Iberian type. It originates in the mountainous Terra Fria Transmontana, the northern part of the District of Bragança, in the historical-geographical region of Trás-os-Montes. It is distributed principally in Bragança and in the concelho of Vinhais, particularly on the massifs of the Serra da Coroa, the Serra de Montesinho and the Serra da Nogueira within the Parque Natural de Montesinho, and so also within the larger Reserva da Biosfera Transfronteiriça Meseta Ibérica.[4]: 95 [3] Some are reared also in the neighbouring concelhos of Chaves, Macedo de Cavaleiros, Mirandela, Valpaços and Vimioso.[3]: 23
The Galego or Bragançano was first described as a distinct population in Trás-os-Montes in 1941 by Francisco Felgueiras Júnior, who was superintendent of animal husbandry in the area.[5]: 1 [6]: 71
The sheep were formerly more numerous: in 1941 the Galego or Bragançano type constituted some 80% of a total of about 248000 sheep in the district, or approximately 200000;[6]: 71 in 1986 the total population numbered over 155000.[2] By 1990 it had fallen to approximately 5000 head, and the breed was thought to be at risk of extinction. Herd-book registration began in 1991, and a breed society, the Associação Nacional de Criadores de Ovinos da Raça Churra Galega Bragançana, was established.[3]: 12 In 2024 the total number was estimated to be 30062–33434 head, with a breeding stock of 15329 ewes and 548 rams in 157 flocks;[2][7] its conservation status was listed as "not at risk".[2]
The breed society also maintains the herd-book for the Churra Galega Bragançana Preta, a black-woolled variant, which was officially recognised as a separate breed in 2015.[3]: 12
