The Leccese or Moscia Leccese is a

breed A breed is a specific group of breedable 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 seve ...

of domestic

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

indigenous to the

Salento Salento (; Salentino dialect, Salentino: ''Salentu''; Griko language, Salento Griko: ) is a Cultural area, cultural, List of historical states of Italy, historical, and geographic region at the southern end of the administrative region of Apuli ...

peninsula, in

Puglia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

, southern Italy. Its name derives from that of

Lecce Lecce (; ) is a city in southern Italy and capital of the province of Lecce. It is on the Salentine Peninsula, at the heel of the Italian Peninsula, and is over two thousand years old. Because of its rich Baroque architecture, Lecce is n ...

, the principal city of the peninsula. Like the Pinzirita and the

Altamurana The Altamurana is an Italian breed of sheep from the province of Bari, in Puglia in southern Italy. It is of Asiatic, possibly Syrian, origin. It is raised mainly in the provinces of Bari and Foggia, and takes its name from the town of Altam ...

, it belongs to the Zackel sheep group. It is a hardy and frugal breed, usually kept in semi-feral herds, capable of surviving year-round on pasture alone. The wool is normally white and the skin flesh-coloured with darker mottlings. In a small proportion of animals the wool is entirely black, and the skin is also black; these black-skinned sheep are resistant to the effects of the poisonous '' Hypericum crispum'', common in the Salento, which in the white-woolled, pale-skinned sheep causes

photosensitivity Photosensitivity is the amount to which an object reacts upon receiving photons, especially visible light. In medicine, the term is principally used for abnormal reactions of the skin, and two types are distinguished, photoallergy and phototoxicit ...

and thus

dermatitis Dermatitis is a term used for different types of skin inflammation, typically characterized by itchiness, redness and a rash. In cases of short duration, there may be small blisters, while in long-term cases the skin may become thickened ...

. The Leccese is one of the seventeen

autochthonous Autochthon, autochthons or autochthonous may refer to: Nature * Autochthon (geology), a sediment or rock that can be found at its site of formation or deposition * Autochthon (nature), or landrace, an indigenous animal or plant * Autochthonou ...

Italian sheep breeds for which a genealogical herdbook is kept by the

Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia The Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, or roughly "national association of Sheep farming, pastoralists", is the Italian national body responsible for the administration of sheep- and goat-breeding. It maintains the herd books for more th ...

, the Italian national association of sheep-breeders. The

herd-book A breed registry, also known as a herdbook, studbook or register, in animal husbandry, the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeders wh ...

was established in 1972. Total numbers for the breed were estimated at 240,000 in 1983; in 2013 the number recorded in the herd-book was 574. The milk yield of the Leccese averages in 180 days for

primiparous In biology and medicine, gravidity and parity are the number of times a female has been pregnant (gravidity) and carried the pregnancies to a viable gestational age (parity). These two terms are usually coupled, sometimes with additional terms, t ...

, and for pluriparous, ewes. The milk has 7% fat and 6.5% protein. Lambs are usually slaughtered at about 90 days, when they weigh approximately Rams yield about of wool, ewes about in two shearings; the wool is of ordinary quality, suitable for mattresses.

References

{{Sheep breeds of Italy Sheep breeds originating in Italy