Azpi Gorri

The Azpi Gorri is a traditional Basque breed of domestic goat. It originates in the historical Basque Country, and is the only recognised goat breed of that area.^{[6]: 360 [7]: 171} It is distributed in the northern part of the province of Álava and in southern Bizkaia, with a few herds in the autonomous community of Navarre.^[8]

Azpi Gorri

Conservation status	FAO (2007): critical[1]: 107  DAD-IS (2021): at risk[2]
Other names	Azpi-Gorri[3]
Country of origin	Spain
Distribution	Euskal Herria
Use	goat's meat[4]
Traits
Weight	Male: 63 kg[5] Female: 43 kg[5]
Goat Capra aegagrus hircus

History

The Azpi Gorri is a traditional breed of the Basque Country. By the late twentieth century it had become gravely endangered, with an estimated breeding population of 100.^[7]: 173 In 1997 it was added to the Catálogo Oficial de Razas de Ganado de España, the national register of livestock breeds of the Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación,^{[7]: 171 [9]} and in 2001 it was included in the official list of Basque breeds of the País Vasco.^{[7]: 171 [10]}

A breed society, the Euskal Herriko Azpi Gorri Elkartea, was formed in 1999; it has kept the herd-book since 2007.^[7]: 173

Also in 2007, the Azpi Gorri was added to the Ark of Taste of the Slow Food Foundation.^{[7]: 174 [11]} The Ark of Taste also lists the Azpi Zuri, a colour variant with white lower parts rather than the characteristic red of the standard breed.^[12]

Characteristics

The Azpi Gorri is of medium size. The coat is short and lustrous black with chestnut-red markings on the underbelly, the underside of the tail, the legs and the face^[6]: 360 – the Basque words azpi gorri mean approximately "with reddish lower parts".^[13] The facial profile is straight, and the ears are held more or less horizontally.^[6]: 360 The horns are arched in nannies, more corkscrew-shaped in billies; both sexes occasionally have tassels.^[7]: 173