The Catalan donkey ( ca, Ase Català, italic=yes or , es, Asno Catalán, italic=yes) is a

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

of large domestic donkeys from the historic region of Catalonia, now in north-eastern Spain and south-western France. Approximately 80% of the breed population is in the modern

autonomous community eu, autonomia erkidegoa ca, comunitat autònoma gl, comunidade autónoma oc, comunautat autonòma an, comunidat autonoma ast, comunidá autónoma , alt_name = , map = , category = Autonomous administra ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...

, and approximately 20% is in the historic

Roussillon Roussillon ( , , ; ca, Rosselló ; oc, Rosselhon ) is a historical province of France that largely corresponded to the County of Roussillon and part of the County of Cerdagne of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is part of the ...

region of France.

History

The Catalan breed is considered to be very old;

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

mentions donkeys on the Plain of Vic, in the

comarca A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, ...

Osona Osona () is a comarca situated in Catalonia, Northeast Spain. Its capital is Vic. Its population in 2001 was 129,543. Osona covers roughly the same area as the historic Catalan county of Osona. The name Osona comes from ''Ausetans'', a group of ...

. Some believe it to be related to the donkey of

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bale ...

and the Zamorano-Leonés donkey. The Catalan donkey originates in the basins of the Cardener, Segre and

Ter Ter or TER may refer to: Places * River Ter, in Essex, England * Ter (river), in Catalonia * Ter (department), a region in France * Torre (river), (Slovene: ''Ter''), a river in Italy * Ter, Ljubno, a settlement in the Municipality of Ljubno o ...

rivers. In the past it was very important on farms but due to declining use and numbers the Catalan donkey was in danger of

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

ion. There were once as many as 50,000. A herd-book was established in 1880 or 1929. Numbers fell during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

, but recovered in the next decade. In the 1960s and 1970s rural depopulation and the mechanisation of agriculture led to a new decline in numbers. A breeders' association, the , was formed in 1978 and the 1929 herd-book re-opened. Much of the credit for the recovery of the breed is given to one person, Joan Gassó i Salvans from the

Berguedà Berguedà () is an inland comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain, lying partly in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees, and partly in the Catalan Central Depression. Geography The northern half of Berguedà, known as Alt Berguedà (“Upper Berguedà” ...

. In 2004, 32% of the registered population of 336 were on his finca in

Olvan Olvan is a municipality in the comarca of Berguedà, Catalonia. It is made up of the town of Olvan and part of the former industrial colony of Cal Rosal, on the Llobregat river. Economy The most important industry in Olvan is agriculture, espec ...

. An official national genealogical herd-book was opened in 2002. At the end of 2013 the total population in Spain was recorded as 851. The ''

Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food ( es, Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación, MAPA), is the department of the Government of Spain responsible for proposing and carrying out the government policy on agricultural, livestoc ...

'', the Spanish ministry of agriculture, lists the breed as "in danger of extinction". The Catalan donkey has been exported to many countries, among them Algeria, Congo, Madagascar, Tunisia and Zaire in Africa; Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Cuba and the United States in the Americas; and also Australia, Germany, India and the United Kingdom. It contributed to the history of European breeds including the Baudet de Poitou in France, and the Asino di Martina Franca and Asino di Pantelleria in Italy. In the United States it played an essential part in the development of the

American Mammoth Jack The American Mammoth Jackstock is a breed of North American donkey, descended from large donkeys imported to the United States from about 1785. George Washington, with Henry Clay and others, bred for an ass that could be used to produce strong ...

: a Catalan jack known as Imported Mammoth, brought to Charleston in

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

in 1819, was widely used for breeding in parts of

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

and

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 36th-largest by ...

Characteristics

The Catalan is a large donkey, and generally weighs between . Jacks average in height, and jennies .

Use

The traditional use of the Catalan was as a sire for

mule The mule is a domestic equine hybrid between a donkey and a horse. It is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes; of the two po ...

s. With the

mechanisation of agriculture Mechanised agriculture or agricultural mechanization is the use of machinery and equipment, ranging from simple and basic hand tools to more sophisticated, motorized equipment and machinery, to perform agricultural operations. In modern times, po ...

in the twentieth century, demand for mules fell precipitously, and Catalan jacks were no longer needed for this purpose. In the twenty-first century, possible uses for these donkeys include recreational tourism; use in vegetation management to clear underbrush in woodland, thus reducing the risk of fire; as a companion animal; and as an element of

cultural heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by soc ...

. Advocates of Catalan

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

have adopted the Catalan donkey as a satirical response to the

Toro de Osborne The Osborne bull ( es, El Toro de Osborne) is a black silhouetted image of a bull in semi-profile. Erected as either or billboards, as of July 2022 there are 92 of them installed on hilltops and along roadways throughout much of Spain. Conce ...

image widespread in other parts of Spain.

References

{{Catalonia topics Catalan symbols National symbols of Spain Donkey breeds