The Rubia Gallega, , 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 ...

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

native to the

autonomous community The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Sp ...

of Galicia in north-western Spain. It is raised mainly for meat. It is distributed throughout Galicia, with about 75% of the population concentrated in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Lugo Lugo (, ) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is the capital of the Lugo (province), province of Lugo. The municipality had a population of 100,060 in 2024, ...

. The coat may be red-blond, wheaten, or cinnamon-coloured.

History

A herdbook was established in 1933. In the 20th century, some crossbreeding occurred with the Portuguese

Barrosã The Barrosã is a cattle breed from Portugal. The Barrosã breed has the protected geographical status of DOC (''Denominação de Origem Controlada'') from the European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (govern ...

, Swiss

Braunvieh The ''Braunvieh'' (, "brown cattle") or Swiss Brown is a breed or group of breeds of domestic cattle originating in Switzerland and distributed throughout the Alpine region. It falls within the "Brown Mountain" group of cattle breeds. The Swiss ...

Simmental The Simmental (; ) is an alpine valley in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland. It expands from Lenk to Boltigen, in a more or less south-north direction ( Obersimmental), and from there to the valley exit at Wimmis near Spiez it takes a west-e ...

, and British

Shorthorn The Shorthorn breed of cattle originated in the North East of England in the late eighteenth century. The breed was developed as dual-purpose, suitable for both dairy and beef production; however, certain blood lines within the breed always em ...

breeds. At the end of 2015, the total registered Rubia Gallega population was 39,971, of which almost all were in Galicia. The breed is distributed throughout the autonomous community, with about 75% of the population concentrated in Lugo. It is found particularly at altitudes above about in the mountainous areas in the northern part of the province, including the , the , and the .

Use

The Rubia Gallega is primarily a

beef cattle Beef cattle are cattle raised for meat production (as distinguished from dairy cattle, used for milk (production)). The meat of mature or almost mature cattle is mostly known as beef. In beef production there are three main stages: cow-calf opera ...

breed. The milk is used in the production of

Tetilla ''Tetilla'' is a genus of flowering plants. It belongs to the family Saxifragaceae.Zappi, D. (2009)Neotropical Saxifragaceae In: Milliken, W., et al. (2009 onwards), Neotropikey - Interactive key and information resources for flowering plants ...

cheese, which has had

Denominación de Origen In Spain and Latin America, the (; )In other languages of Spain: * Catalan: (). * (). * (). is part of a regulatory geographical indication system used primarily for foodstuffs such as cheeses, condiments, honey, and meats, among others. ...

certification since 1993 and European DOP certification since 1996. The Rubia Gallega has a tranquil temperament and is suitable for draught work; however, it is slow in comparison to

oxen An ox (: oxen), also known as a bullock (in BrE, British, AusE, Australian, and IndE, Indian English), is a large bovine, trained and used as a draft animal. Oxen are commonly castration, castrated adult male cattle, because castration i ...

of other breeds.

References

Cattle breeds originating in Spain Galicia (Spain) {{cattle-stub