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| 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]