Abstract: Chapter 3 interrogates the concept of a “native” breed within the context of pedigree cattle breeding in the early- to mid-nineteenth century. It centers on Hereford cattle, which began their career as a hardy regional breed of varied appearance. As cattle breeders increasingly turned towards recorded pedigrees as guarantees of value, and pure-breeding (mating closely-related animals to narrow a genotype) became the became the desired goal, if not always the practical norm, within the industry, Hereford cattle increasingly failed to measure up against “improved” varieties like the Shorthorn breed. “Nativeness” initially operated as a proxy for purity in the case of Hereford cattle, as the close connection between type and place worked in favour of the breed, but over time, breeders turned to other measures. Phenotypic uniformity became paramount at mid-century by which time all Herefords displayed red coats and white faces, and its “native” character began to expand beyond its original region to take on national trappings in conjunction with a growing national taste for <italic>British</italic> beef.
Publication Year: 2017
Publication Date: 2017-11-06
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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