The origins of the breed are unknown, but are probably shared with those of other large lop-eared breeds of the Alps such as the Bergamasca, the Biellese and the Lamon.[5] The much-reported derivation of these 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. Breed numbers fell drastically in the period after the Second World War, from about 4000 in the war years to 60–80 head in 1983; they have since recovered.[3] The conservation status of the breed was listed as "critical" by the FAO in 2007.[1] A total population of 911 was reported in 2008,[2] and in 2013 the total number reported for the breed was 1464, of which all were in the province of Como.[6]
^ abBreed data sheet: Brianzola/Italy. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed September 2013.
^ abcDaniele Bigi, Alessio Zanon (2008). Atlante delle razze autoctone: Bovini, equini, ovicaprini, suini allevati in Italia (in Italian). Milan: Edagricole. ISBN9788850652594. p. 194–95.
^ abLe razze ovine e caprine in Italia (in Italian). Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia: Ufficio centrale libri genealogici e registri anagrafici razze ovine e caprine. p. 46–47. Accessed September 2013.
L. Noè, L.A. Brambilla, M. Corti, G.F. Grepp (1998) "Misurazioni morfometriche della popolazione ovina autoctona Brianzola" (in Italian). Conference paper, XIII Congresso Nazionale Società Italiana di Patologia e di Allevamento degli Ovini e dei Caprini, Palermo, 16–19 April 1998.
Massimo Pirovano et al. (1997). La pecora brianzola: notizie storiche e ricerche zootecniche (in Italian). Galbiate (CO): Comunità montana del Lario orientale.