Conservation status | FAO (2007): not at risk[1] |
---|---|
Country of origin | Italy |
Distribution | |
Standard | MIPAAF |
Use | principally for meat; also wool |
Traits | |
Weight | |
Height | |
Wool color | white |
Face color | white |
Horn status | hornless in both sexes |
|
The Finarda is a breed of large domestic sheep from the regions of Lombardy and Piemonte in northern Italy.[3] It is heavy breed raised mainly for meat, although it also yields 4–6 kg of wool per year. It results from cross-breeding the Bergamasca and Biellese breeds.[4][5] It is one of the forty-two autochthonous local sheep breeds of limited distribution for which a herdbook is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep-breeders.[5] However, in 2008 the herdbook was empty, and may in fact never have been activated.[4] Most data for the breed dates from 1983.[4]
The conservation status of the breed was listed as "not at risk" by the FAO in 2007.[1] In 2013 total numbers for the breed were not reported;[6] the population is estimated at 5000 head.[5]