Belted Galloway

Did You Know?

• An old strain is listed as the 'Original Belted Galloway Cattle' in the Ark of Taste of the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity.
• Cattle reared on forage alone may take up to four years to be ready for slaughter.
• Beef from forage-reared Belted Galloways may have higher-than-usual levels of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.

History

The Belted Galloway comes from the traditional Galloway cattle of southwestern Scotland, which belong to a larger group of Scottish breeds that also includes the Aberdeen Angus and Highland. While most Galloways are black, the white-belted version was one of the color variations. No one knows exactly how the white belt originated, but it is believed to come from crossbreeding with the Dutch Lakenvelder during the 1600s. Starting in 1852, both Aberdeen Angus and Galloway cattle could be entered into a herd-book for polled animals. A separate herd-book just for Galloways appeared in 1878. In 1921, breeders formed the Dun and Belted Galloway Association, which kept records for both belted and dun-colored cattle, and its first herd-book came out in 1922. By 1951, the society stopped registering non-belted dun animals and changed its name to the Belted Galloway Society. This group also manages herd-books for Red Galloways and White Galloways. During the 1900s, the breed spread to many countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United States. Breed societies formed in New Zealand in 1948, in the United States in 1951, and in Australia in 1975. The foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in the British Isles in 2001 hit the Belted Galloway hard, wiping out a large portion of its population. By 2007, numbers had bounced back enough for the breed to be taken off the Rare Breeds Survival Trust endangered watchlist, and the FAO listed its global population as not at risk that same year. In 2012, the United Kingdom had roughly a certain number of registered breeding cows.

Characteristics

The Belted Galloway is instantly recognizable by its signature white band that wraps completely around the middle of the body, from just behind the shoulders to the hind legs. In bulls, this white belt is the only white marking allowed; cows may have small white patches on their lower legs and still be registered in a special appendix of the herd-book. The rest of the coat is most often black, but dun and, less commonly, red also occur. The dun color comes from a mutation in the PMEL gene, the same one responsible for dun and silver dun in Highland cattle. The breed has a double coat: a long, coarse outer layer sheds rain, while a soft, fine undercoat provides insulation. This means the animals don't need a thick layer of winter fat, so their meat tends to be lean. Adult weights vary with climate and available forage, falling within typical ranges for cows and bulls. These cattle are generally calm, but cows are fiercely protective mothers and will defend their calves from anything they see as a threat; at least one person has been trampled by a herd. The Belted Galloway thrives in harsh weather, on hilly terrain, and on rough, coarse grass. It is standard practice to keep them outdoors all winter, regardless of the conditions.