Capra Grigia

Capra Grigia

Billy-goat
Conservation status	FAO (2007): critical-maintained[1]: 112
Other names	French: Chèvre grise des montagnes German: Graue Bergziege Cavra del Sass
Country of origin	Switzerland
Distribution	Grisons Ticino
Standard	Capra Grigia Schweiz
Use	meat milk vegetation management[2]
Traits
Weight	Male: 72 kg[3] Female: 50 kg[3]
Height	Male: 80 cm[3] Female: 75 cm[3]
Coat	grey, lower legs black
Face colour	grey with paler muzzle
Horn status	horned in both sexes
Goat Capra aegagrus hircus

The Capra Grigia, French: Chèvre grise des montagnes, German: Graue Bergziege,[3] is a rare and endangered Swiss breed of domestic goat. It originates in the valleys of the cantons of the Grisons or Graubünden in the eastern part of the country, and of Ticino or Tessin in the south.[4] It is possibly related to the grey type of the Passeirer Gebirgsziege from the Autonomous Province of Bolzano in north-eastern Italy.[5]

History

Documentation of the Capra Grigia in the valleys of the Ticino and the Grisons goes back more than 100 years. Three regional types were distinguished: the Bleni-Valmaggia or Lavizzarer, the Liviner or Misoxer, and the Riveria.[5] The breed was not recognised in the reorganisation of Swiss goat breeds in 1938, and infection with caprine arthritis encephalitis in the mid-twentieth century contributed to its near-total disappearance.[6] The Swiss association ProSpecieRara launched a conservation and recovery project for the Capra Grigia in 1997, recorded all surviving members in a herd-book, and started a controlled breeding programme. Breed standards were formulated in 2005, and in 2006 the Capra Grigia was officially recognised as a Swiss breed.[7]: 112 [8]: 367  In 2007 the total number registered was 190, and the conservation status was listed by the FAO as "critical-maintained".[1][8]: 367  In 2008, five apparently similar goats were discovered in the Valchiavenna in Italy, which increased the gene pool.[7] In 2011 a breed association, Capra Grigia Schweiz, was formed.[2]

At the end of 2011 a population of 475–490 was reported to DAD-IS.[3]

Characteristics

The Capra Grigia is sure-footed and agile, with hard hooves well-suited to the high mountain terrain of the southern Alps. The horns are strong, and grow upwards and outwards. The coat colour is similar to that of the Austrian Blobe Ziege [de]: it varies from a mottled dark grey to a pale silver-white; the legs are dark grey or black, and there is a dark dorsal stripe.[8]: 367 

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  Nanny goat
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  Kids

References

1. 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 June 2014.
2. Capra Grigia (in German). Pro Specie Rara. Accessed June 2014.
3. Breed data sheet: Capra Grigia/Switzerland. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed June 2014.
4. Tableaux des races: Races caprines suisses – races menacées (in French). Schweizerischer Ziegenzuchtverband. Archived 15 July 2014.
5. Hans-Peter Grunenfelder (ed.) (2003). Agricultural Genetic Resources in the Alps. St. Gallen: Monitoring Institute for Rare Breeds and Seeds in Europe. Accessed July 2017.
6. Programma di salvaguardia della razza Capra Grigia: Obiettivi e strategie dell’allevamento (in Italian). Capra Grigia Schweiz. Accessed June 2014.
7. Erhaltungsprojekt für Capra Grigia (in German). Pro Specie Rara. Accessed June 2014.
8. Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 9781780647944.