Pre-History:
The origins of the South Devon are
lost in the mists of antiquity, but it appears that the breed is derived from
the European aurochs (Bos primigenius primigenius), the forebear
of today's Bos taurus cattle, which roamed the mountainous regions of Europe
some 10,000 years or more ago following the Great Ice Age. The breed's
ancestors are then thought to have migrated westwards into
Introduction
into
Following the Norman invasion of
During the sixteenth century,
One of the more interesting observations on the
The Evolution of a Recognised Breed:
Over time, the geography and isolation of Devon and Cornwall saw the native red cattle evolve into two physically distinct breeds, the North Devon (known today simply as the Devon) and the South Devon. These two breeds have been recognised as being quite distinct ever since the late 1700s (in fact, old records indicate that a breed society for "South Hams", as the South Devons were then known, was operative in 1794), and by the 1850s a number of farmers who were breeding South Devons had started to keep their own herd books. When, in 1884, the breeders of North Devon cattle formed their own breed society (the Devon Cattle Breeders' Society), the breeders of South Devon cattle "retaliated" by forming their own group - the South Devon Herd Book Society (SDHBS); this was inaugurated on 7th October 1890 and incorporated some thirteen months later with an initial membership of 130. The first Herd Book was published in 1891 and described 143 bulls and 972 cows and heifers.
Following its establishment, the SDHBS began a very successful promotion of
the breed throughout southern half of the country with the result that by the
beginning of the twentieth century the South
Devon had become recognised as the premier
triple purpose breed in
Characteristics
of the early
What then were the characteristics of the
World War I and Other Events:
Unfortunately, just as the breed was starting to become established both nationally and internationally, World War One intervened with a number of unfortunate consequences, one of which being the ban on the export of live animals which was introduced by the British Government and which was to last nearly ten years; this had a major impact on the development of the breed outside of Britain. The War also saw the beginning of mechanisation on farms with the result that the South Devon was no longer required for draught; this, coupled with public demand for smaller cuts of meat, lead to a considerable (one-third) reduction in the size of the animal. Although this was not seen as a problem at the time, in the light of later history, many observers regard this "as probably the most serious setback the breed has suffered in its development", and one from which it is only just starting to recover.
In the 1920s however, as milk was
more profitable than meat, most South Devon
herds were milked and there was a major emphasis on dairy production
with the formation of the
From the 1920s to the 1970s, the breed was characterised by its moderate
size and its ability to produce high quality meat and milk, as exemplified in
the remarks of the President of the SDHBS when, in 1956, he announced that "South
Devons had adapted themselves to the demand for small joints whilst providing
adequate high quality milk". Regarding the latter, following World
War Two the Ministry of Food gave special recognition to the milk from South
Devon cows, officially designating it as "South
Devon Milk" and buying it at a premium of fourpence a gallon if
its butterfat content was greater than 4% (which it usually was). At the time,
the breed standard for cows was that they needed to produce in excess of 4,000
Kg of milk with a butterfat content of at least 4% in a 305 day lactation;
while this standard was not always achieved, in 1961/62, the average 305 day
production figures of the 2650 recorded cows was 3,000 Kg of milk containing
4.2% butterfat. At the same time as it was attracting a premium for its milk,
the South Devon was also attracting a
government beef subsidy for its calves and steers, the meat of which was described as being "well
marbled, fine grained and of good flavour". It is worth noting
that the South Devon is the only breed in
These days of "large milk cheques and small joints" were however
numbered, with the 1950s and 60s seeing two
significant challenges emerge from continental
The first was in the form of the Friesian cow which started to be imported into
The second challenge came in the
1960s in the form of the Charolais
which was promoted as a specialist beef breed and as a terminal sire especially
suitable for using over unwanted Friesian cows. As the South Devon was the only British breed which
was comparable in size to the Charolais, and as it was loosing out to the
Friesian on the dairy front, the SDHBS turned its attention to improving the
meat producing abilities of the South Devon
by cooperating with the British Meat and
Livestock Commission (MLC) in establishing bull performance testing
centres, initially at Dartington in 1966 and then at Taunton in 1972. In 1971,
further beef challenges emerged from Europe with the importation of 25
During the 1970s, numerous comparative studies into the performance of the South Devon as a beef breed were conducted by
the United States Department of Agriculture
at its Meat Animal Research Centre, Clay Centre,
Muscling and a defect in the Myostatin Gene:
In 1962, Dr J C McKellar, a respected veterinarian and past president of
the British Veterinary Association, described several cases of muscular hypertrophy
(double muscling) in South Devon cattle, and concluded that this was
a desirable trait in the production of lean beef. In 1978, being mindful of
the problems inherent in double muscling, the SDHBS urged its members to seek
out and use those bulls exhibiting this trait. This has lead to an increase
in the muscularity of the
South
Devons outside
The South Devon breed is now well established on five continents, with active Societies in England, North America, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, and, of course, Australia.
South Devons were among the first
cattle to be brought to
Between the two World Wars,
Towards the end of the 1960s, however, considerable interest began to be
shown in the so-called "exotic" breeds, namely those of European and
zebu origin. Renewed interest was also displayed in the South Devon, with semen being imported from
Currently there are over 2,000 registered purebred South Devon females in
References:
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Felius M. Genus Bos: Cattle Breeds of the World. 1st ed.
French MH, ed. European Breeds of Cattle. 1st ed.
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. Cattle of
Horsman J. The
Baker CMA, Manwell C. Chemical classification of cattle: I. Breed groups. Animal Blood Groups and Biochemical Genetics 1980;11:127-150.
Manwell C, Baker CMA. Chemical classification of cattle: II. Phylogenetic tree. Animal Blood Groups and Biochemical Genetics 1980;11:151-162.
Smith JA, Lewis AM, Wiener P, Williams JL. Genetic variation in the bovine
myostatin gene in