Väneko
Swedish breed of cattle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Väneko is an endangered Swedish breed of dairy cattle. It is named for the village of Väne-Ryr in the landskap of Västergötland, in western Sweden. It is a traditional domestic Swedish breed, and derives from a group of cattle discovered in the 1990s, at a time when all traditional Swedish horned cattle were thought to have disappeared.[3]
History
The Väneko is a traditional domestic Swedish breed.[4] It is named for the village of Väne-Ryr in the Vänersborg Municipality of Västra Götaland, in the landskap of Västergötland in western Sweden.
It derives from a group of cattle discovered in the 1990s, at a time when all traditional Swedish horned cattle were thought to have disappeared.[3] There is a programme of recovery and conservation of the breed.[5] A herd-book was established in 1993.[6]
The Väneko is grouped with two other endangered indigenous cattle breeds, the Ringamålako and the Bohuskulla, as Allmogekor, or roughly "Swedish native cattle".[7]: 307 [5] Conservation and registration of these populations is managed by a society, the Föreningen Allmogekon.[3]
In 2014 the total Väneko population was reported to be 190.[6]
Characteristics
The coat of the Väneko is multi-coloured, black or red, sometimes with white; the cattle may be solid-coloured, red or black pied, or colour-sided.[2][8] Bulls weigh approximately 775 kg, cows about 525 kg.[6]
Use
The Väneko is a dairy breed, kept principally for its milk;[2] it is, however, not very productive.[5] The only breeding aim is preservation of the breed without contamination from other breeds.[3] It is maintained for social and cultural reasons,[3] and may be used in vegetation management.[2]