The Biellese is a breed of large domestic sheep indigenous to the province of Biella, in Piedmont in north-western Italy,^[3][4] from which it takes its name. It may also be known as the Razza d'Ivrea, after the town of Ivrea, or as the Piemontese Alpina.^[3] The Biellese is one of the seventeen autochthonous Italian sheep breeds for which a genealogical herdbook is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep-breeders.^[5]

History

The origins of the Biellese breed are unknown. In the early part of the twentieth century it was considered by some to be a sub-type of the Bergamasca breed; others did not share this view.^[3] The much-reported derivation of it, with the Bergamasca and other Alpine breeds, from Sudanese sheep is a hypothesis published in 1886 in the Traité de zootechnie of André Sanson, and is based on craniometry; it has no foundation in science. The breed was numerous in the area of Biella; in 1942 numbers were estimated at 40,000.^[6] As with many other Italian breeds, numbers dropped sharply after the Second World War. However, interest in the breed revived in the 1960s; the breed was officially recognised in 1985 by the then Ministero dell'Agricoltura e delle Foreste,^[3] and a herdbook was established in 1986.^[4] By 1994 there were more than 50,000 head, of which 1900 were registered in the herdbook. At the end of 2013 the total number registered was 1016;^[7] there has been no recent census of unregistered stock.^[3]

Use and management

The Biellese was formerly considered a dual-purpose breed, yielding meat and wool; it is now kept now principally for meat production. Lambs are usually slaughtered at a weight of 12–15 kg, or rarely at 18–20 kg. Some wether mutton from castrated animals slaughtered at 12–18 months is sold in the markets of Milan and Ravenna; there is demand from some immigrant communities for large entire (uncastrated) lambs.^[3] The wool is of carpet quality; rams yield about 3.5 kg, ewes about 3 kg, per year.^[3]

The Biellese is commonly used for hybridisation with other breeds such as the Frabosana, the Garessina, the Sambucana and the Savoiarda to improve meat yield and growth rate.^[3]

As in the past, management of the Biellese is most often transhumant: the flocks are kept on alpine pasture from June to October, and over-winter in the valleys, where they are fed hay. About 75% of the population is managed in this way. Management of a further 20%, mostly in the area of origin, is nomadic; these are often kept in relatively large flocks of 800–1000 head. Only a small percentage are kept in the same place year-round.^[3]

References