# Distribution of cattle breeds

A map of a former edition of the Atlas of Switzerland, the national atlas published by ETH Zurich. It opens only in the desktop atlas (version 4) for Windows and macOS, not in the web atlas; see the links below.

- Map: https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/distribution-of-cattle-breeds/
- Short title: Cattle breeds
- Map id: 881
- Categories: Economy and Energy › Farming › Livestock
- Keywords: Agriculture, Animals
- Published: 2021-04-07
- Last revised: 2022-04-25
- Content language: English
- Other languages: [Deutsch](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/de/thema/verteilung-der-rinderrassen.md), [Français](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/fr/theme/repartition-des-races-bovines.md), [Italiano](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/it/tema/distribuzione-delle-razze-bovine.md)

## Description

According to Identitas, there were over 1.5 million cattle in Switzerland at the end of 2020, and under one fifth of them are male. A distinction can be made between milk production and meat production when it comes to cattle. There are breeds that have been bred predominantly for one of these two functions, as well as combined breeds.

*Dairy cattle*
The typical and most common dairy cattle breeds are Holstein-Friesian (red and black), Braunvieh (Brown Swiss), Fleckvieh (Simmental) as dual-purpose cattle, and Montbéliarde.

*Beef cattle*
In Switzerland, a total of 32 breeds are reared for meat production. Most of them do not have “pure” Swiss blood and many also originate from crossbreeding with mainly American cattle. Pure Swiss beef cattle breeds are Braunvieh (Central Switzerland), Hérens (Valais), Evolène (Valais), Tyrol Grey (Grisons) and Simmental (Bernese Highlands). Other breeds also reared in Switzerland are Angus, Galloway, Charolais, Hereford, Limousin and now also Wagyu.

## Sources

- Bell (2021): [Rind](https://www.bell.ch/de/bell-code-1869/fleischkunde/rind/)
- Identitas (2020): [Animal statistics](https://tierstatistik.identitas.ch/de/index.html)
- Wikipedia contributors (2021): Hausrind. In: Wikipedia

## Data sources

- Atlas of Switzerland: [Administrative Einheiten 1:500.000 (Gemeinden, Bezirke, Kantone)](http://www.atlasderschweiz.ch/)
- Identitas (2020): [Animal statistics](https://tierstatistik.identitas.ch/de/index.html)
- swisstopo [J160089] (2010): [Gemeindegrenzen GG25](https://shop.swisstopo.admin.ch/de/products/landscape/boundaries3D)
- swisstopo [J160089] (2010): [Landeskarte 1:500.000](https://shop.swisstopo.admin.ch/de/products/maps/national/lk500)

## Data owners

- [Atlas of Switzerland (AoS)](http://www.atlasderschweiz.ch/)
- [Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO)](https://www.bfs.admin.ch/)
- [Identitas](https://www.identitas.ch/)
- [Swiss Federal Office of Topography (swisstopo)](http://www.swisstopo.admin.ch/)

## Citation

The terms of use ask to name the Atlas of Switzerland and the data owners, and to keep the source references in exports, screenshots and embeds. Cite the map as:

> Atlas of Switzerland (2022): Distribution of cattle breeds. ETH Zürich. Map data © AoS, FSO, Identitas, swisstopo. https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/distribution-of-cattle-breeds/

## Links

- Map page, with the description and sources and a button that opens the map in the desktop atlas: https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/distribution-of-cattle-breeds/
- Open the map in the desktop atlas (version 4), where it is installed: adsglobe://map/881
- Download of the desktop atlas (version 4) for Windows and macOS: https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/ads4-download/

## Related maps

- [Distribution of dog breeds](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/distribution-of-dog-breeds.md) (id 856, former edition, desktop atlas only)
- [Distribution of horse breeds](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/distribution-of-horse-breeds.md) (id 882, former edition, desktop atlas only)
- [Distribution of sheep breeds](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/distribution-of-sheep-breeds.md) (id 880, former edition, desktop atlas only)
- [Distribution of goat breeds](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/distribution-of-goat-breeds.md) (id 875, former edition, desktop atlas only)
- [Number of cattle](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/number-of-cattle.md) (id 773, former edition, desktop atlas only)

For the use and citation of maps and data, see the [terms of use](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/terms-of-use/).