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DOMESTIC ANIMALS The Boskarin is Saved! About ten years ago, out of love, they named the Istrian bull Boskarin. This type of cattle was saved from extinction by a group of Istrians and some associations. In the sixties, there were about 60,000 heads of cattle, but in 1991 one could find only 3 cows and 3 bulls that were of the geneticaly pure breed. The association for selective Istrian cattle made a complete report in 1991. They found in 1994 that there were only 104 cows and 8 bulls left in Istria.
The program to save the Istrian cattle was also taken up by HGK - the City Council of Pula, and the FAO institute in Zagreb and Ljubljana. They have put the Istrian cattle on the top of their list as endangered species. Luckily, the cattle was saved. Until the nineties the FAO had misclassified the Istrian cattle as having originated from Serbia but this has been corrected. The origin of this cattle is Croatia [Istria] from whence came their Boskarin nickname. The Stifanić's have tried to explain that the people's choice of Boskarin as the nickname came where once most of the oxen were called by that name out of affection. Most of the oxen had their personal names - Gagliardo, Caparin.... as each were equal members of their family. These wonderful animals well deserve that! |
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Pragovedo ovih prostora? Four cows from these parts (forefathers and foremothers cows from this part of the country)
Translation by: Bruno Clapci Source:
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This
all happened because of the mechanization of farms and also because of the
intent to introduce different types of cattle for milk production. This affected
the native cattle. Some of the associations that keep an eye on endangered
species put the Istrian native cattle on their list. Of course, that pushed
researchers to investigate the problem. It was found that the pure breed cows
can still be found in Istria. It was established that there is a need to round
these species and put them into a "Noah's Ark" and save them from dying out. Ten
years ago, the Stefanić brothers from Visnjan and Miroslav Haber from Rovinj
established the Breeders Association. The goal of the association was to
breed and save the native Istrian cattle.
Within
the Croatian academic community in Zagreb, a study will be initiated
to establish the origin of this cattle. This breed has totally adapted itself
to this environment. Its tenacity to plough the land and its use to transport
goods has served the Istrian farmers well. Its large bones and enormous
size and a high demand by farmers for its performance for a probable 20 years is
well justified. Its colour is grey, it has enormous front and hind legs, and its
hoofs are also hard and strong. The bull weighs about one ton, the cow
seldom weighs more than about 550-650 kilograms. An ox usually weighs about
900-1.100 kilograms. They no longer castrate them because they want to save the
species. The cow gives very rich milk about 800-1200 litres annually. The milk
is left for the calf, and after the calf is weaned the cow could give 6-8 litres
daily.