Other names Maonesa
Vermella Use dairy | Country of origin Spain | |
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Conservation status FAO (2007): endangered-maintained Distribution Menorca, Balearic Islands Standard Conselleria d’Agricultura i Pesca (in Catalan) Similar Menorquín horse, Pajuna cattle, Berrenda Red Pied, Sayaguesa, Betizu | ||
The Menorquina is an endangered breed of cattle from the Mediterranean island of Menorca, in the Spanish autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. It belongs to the group of convex-profiled red cattle, whose distribution across the northern Mediterranean region is thought to have followed the path of the Bell-Beaker Culture. The Menorquina is the only Spanish breed of dairy cattle. The milk is particularly suitable for cheese production, and is used to make Mahón cheese, which has DOP status.
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History
Cattle have been present in the Balearic Islands since the time of the Bell-Beaker Culture. Perforated beakers of this period found on the island of Mallorca are believed to be cheese-strainers.:95 In Menorca, where there is no Bell-Beaker pottery, the presence of cattle is documented from the Talaiotic Culture of the first millennium BC, both by cattle bones excavated from talaiots such as those of Torre d'en Galmés and Trepucó, and by artefacts such as the bronze statuette of a calf found at the taula of Torralba d'en Salord in 1980.:105
The Menorquina was the only cattle breed on Menorca. When importations of modern specialised dairy cattle began in the twentieth century, it was rapidly displaced by these and numbers fell sharply. The survival of the breed is largely due to the efforts of a local vet, Gabriel Seguí, who in the 1940s brought together the remaining stock on his estates.:105
In 1991 the population was reported to be 184 head. The Menorquina was classified among the breeds "at risk of extinction" by the Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente, the Spanish ministry of agriculture, on 7 November 1997.:105 A breeders' association, the Associació de Ramaders de Bestiar Boví de Raça de Menorca, was formed in 1998, and the Menorquina breed received official recognition on 31 March 2000. At the end of 2014 the total population was recorded as 1536, of which 1196 were female and 340 male.
Use and management
The Menorquina was formerly a triple-purpose breed, used as a draught animal and for milk and meat production; it is now raised mainly for dairy use. It is the only dairy cattle breed of Spain; milk yield may exceed 4000 litres per lactation.:106 The milk is not usually sold, but is used to make Queso di Mahón, a traditional local cheese which has European Union DOP status.:106
The Menorquina is well adapted to the Mediterranean climate and landscape, and is used in vegetation management. It has a high level of resistance to piroplasmosis, which is endemic to Menorca.