Charolais cattle

The Charolais (French: [ʃaʁɔlɛ]) or Charolaise ([ʃaʁɔlɛz]) is a French breed of taurine beef cattle. It originates in, and is named for, the Charolais area surrounding Charolles,[4] in the département of Saône-et-Loire, in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of eastern France. Charolais are raised for meat; they may be crossed with other breeds, including Angus and Hereford cattle.

Charolais
Cow and calf
Conservation statusFAO (2007): not at risk[1]:144
Other namesFrench: Charolaise
Country of originFrance
Distributionworld-wide
Usebeef
Traits
Weight
  • Male:
    1000–1650 kg[2]:153
  • Female:
    700–1200 kg[2]:153
Height
  • 135–150 cm[2]:153
Coatwhite [2]
Horn statushorned in both sexes[3]
  • Cattle
  • Bos (primigenius) taurus
Feral Charolais bull in Sierra Nevada de Mérida, Venezuela
Embryo-transferred Charolais calves with their Angus and Hereford recipient mothers

History

The Charolais is the second-most numerous cattle breed in France after the Holstein and is the most common beef breed in that country, ahead of the Limousin. At the end of 2014, France had 4.22 million head of Charolais, including 1.56 million cows, down 0.6% from a year earlier.[5] The Charolais is a world breed: it is reported to DAD-IS by 68 countries, of which 37 report population data. The world population is estimated at about 730,000. The largest populations are reported from the Czech Republic and Mexico.[6]

The breed was introduced to the southern United States from Mexico in 1934.[7]

As the cradle of the Charolais cattle,[8] the Charolais-Brionnais Country is applicant for UNESCO's label as a World Heritage Site to preserve, consolidate and transmit this resource.[9]

Characteristics

It is among the heaviest of cattle breeds: bulls weigh from 1,000 to 1,650 kg (2,200 to 3,600 lb), and cows from 700 to 1,200 kg (1,500 to 2,600 lb). The coat ranges from white to cream-coloured; the nose is uniformly pink.[2]:153

Use

The Charbray, a cross-breed with Brahman cattle, is recognised as a breed in some countries.[10] The Brazilian Canchim is a composite breed with 5/8 Charolais and 3/8 Indu-Brasil.[11] Other derived breeds include Charford and Char-Swiss in the United States.[2]:153

See also

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 September 2019.
  2. 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.
  3. Charolaise / France (Cattle). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed April 2020.
  4. "Breeds of Livestock - Charolais Cattle — Breeds of Livestock, Department of Animal Science". afs.okstate.edu. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  5. Infos rapides Bovins : Hausse du cheptel bovin français en 2014. Accessed June 2015.
  6. Transboundary breed: Charolais. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed May 2015.
  7. The Charolais heritage ... a brief history Archived 19 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine. American-International Charolais Association. Accessed May 2015.
  8. http://www.maison-charolais.com/en/index.html
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. Transboundary breed: Charbray. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed May 2015.
  11. Breed data sheet: Canchim / Brazil (Cattle). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed September 2019.
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