{{Short description|British breed of goat}} {{use dmy dates|date=December 2024}} {{use British English|date=December 2024}} {{use list-defined references|date=December 2024}} {{Infobox goat breed | name = British Alpine | image = Goat at Offley - geograph.org.uk - 245154 (cropped).jpg | image_size = | image_alt = a black goat with Swiss markings sitting in a green field | image_caption = | status = {{ubl|World-wide:|[[FAO]] (2007): no data{{r|barb|p=145}}|[[DAD-IS]] (2024): not at risk{{r|dad2}}|United Kingdom:|DAD-IS (2024): at risk/endangered{{r|dad}}|[[Rare Breeds Survival Trust|RBST]] (2024): not listed{{r|rbst}}}} | altname = | country = United Kingdom | distribution = {{ubl|Africa|Australia|[[Caribbean]]|South America}} | standard = [https://web.archive.org/web/20090524005638/http://www.britishalpines.co.uk/thebreed.htm British Alpine Breed Society] | use = [[goat's milk|milk]] | weight = average 64 kg | maleweight = 77 kg{{r|sue|p=176}} | femaleweight = 59 kg{{r|sue|p=176}} | height = | maleheight = 91–97 cm{{r|sue|p=176}} | femaleheight = 76–81 cm{{r|sue|p=176}} | coat = black with white [[Swiss markings]] | type = [[dairy goat|dairy]] | skincolour = | woolcolour = | facecolour = | horns = horned or [[polled (livestock)|polled]] | beard = | tassels = | note = }}
[[File:British Alpines east of Llanfachraeth - geograph.org.uk - 1290283.jpg|thumb|Near [[Llanfachraeth]], on [[Anglesey]]]] The '''British Alpine''' is a British [[List of goat breeds|breed]] of [[dairy goat]] bred in the early twentieth century. It is black with white [[Swiss markings]] on the face.
The [[foundation stock]] included a nanny with this colouration acquired in Paris in 1903 and goats of other breeds, probably including the Swiss [[Grisons Striped]] and [[Toggenburger|Toggenburg]] and the now-extinct [[Sundgau (goat)|Sundgau]] of [[Alsace]], as well as some native British goats.
There are large numbers in Australia, and its [[conservation status]] world-wide is not at risk; in the United Kingdom it is an [[endangered breed]], with fewer than five hundred head.
== History ==
The British Alpine was bred in the early twentieth century, principally from goats originating in continental Europe, particularly from Switzerland. The [[foundation animal]] was a nanny named Sedgemere Faith, black with white [[Swiss markings]], acquired from the [[Jardin Zoologique d'Acclimatation]] of Paris in 1903.{{r|cabi|p=366|ba}} Breeds including the [[Bündner Strahlenziege]] ('Grisons Striped') and [[Toggenburger]] of Switzerland and the now-extinct [[Sundgau (goat)|Sundgau]] of [[Alsace]] are thought to have contributed to the development of the breed, as did some native British goats.{{r|cabi|p=366}} It was officially recognised for [[livestock show|showing]] in 1921, and in 1925 a section was opened for it in the [[herd-book]] of the [[British Goat Society]].{{r|val|p=138}} A [[breed society]], the British Alpine Breed Society, was formed in 1979.{{r|ba}}
It was introduced into Australia in 1958,{{r|dad3}} and has been exported to several other countries, among them [[Botswana]], [[Lesotho]] and South Africa in Africa, [[Barbados]] and [[Trinidad and Tobago]] in the [[Caribbean]] and Argentina and Brazil in South America.{{r|dad2}} A population of {{val|464}} was reported in 2023 for the United Kingdom.{{r|dad}} The only country reporting a population in the thousands is Australia, where in 2022 the total number was estimated at {{val|10000|–|20000}};{{r|dad3}} it is also the only country where the [[conservation status]] of the breed is "not at risk".{{r|dad2}}
== Characteristics ==
The British Alpine is a large long-legged goat, with an average weight of about {{val|64|u=kg}}.{{r|dave|p=189}} It may either have horns or be naturally [[polled (livestock)|polled]]. The profile of the face may be concave or straight.{{r|cabi|p=366}}
The coat is fine and short; it is black with white [[Swiss markings]] on the face, with white markings also on the rump, the margins of the ears and the lower legs.{{r|cabi|p=366}}
== Use ==
British Alpines are excellent milkers, well known for their extended lactations. They also have a well-known ability to keep milking through the colder months. These goats have good-sized teats, which allow easier milking. They are a good producer of high-quality milk.
Average daily milk yield in the United Kingdom was calculated from measurements in about 2004 at {{val|4.09|u=kg}} with {{val|3.77|u=%}} [[milkfat|fat]] and {{val|2.74|u=%}} protein.{{r|bgs}}
British Alpines are active goats. They are not suited to indoors or feedlot-type operations, they perform their best free-range.
==See also== *[[Alpine (goat)]]
== References == {{commonscat}} {{reflist|45em|refs=
<ref name=ba>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090524005638/http://www.britishalpines.co.uk/thebreed.htm The British Alpine Dairy Goat]. The British Alpine Breed Society. Archived 24 May 2009.</ref>
<ref name=barb>Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). [https://web.archive.org/web/20200623201209/http://www.fao.org/3/a1250e/annexes/List%20of%20breeds%20documented%20in%20the%20Global%20Databank%20for%20Animal%20Genetic%20Resources/List_breeds.pdf List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources], annex to [https://web.archive.org/web/20170110125634/http://www.fao.org/3/a-a1250e.pdf ''The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture'']. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. {{isbn|9789251057629}}. Archived 23 June 2020.</ref>
<ref name=bgs>[https://web.archive.org/web/20060131192005/http://www.allgoats.com/ Goat Breeds]. The British Goat Society. Archived 31 January 2006.</ref>
<ref name=cabi>Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). [https://books.google.it/books?id=2UEJDAAAQBAJ&hl=en ''Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding''] (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. {{isbn|9781780647944}}.</ref>
<ref name=dad>[https://dadis-breed-datasheet-ws.firebaseapp.com/?country=GBR&specie=Goat&breed=British%20Alpine&lang=en Breed data sheet: British Alpine / United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Goat)]. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed December 2024.</ref>
<ref name=dad2>[https://dadis-transboundary-ext-ws.web.app/?species=Goat&transboundary=British%20Alpine&lang=en Transboundary breed: British Alpine]. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed December 2024.</ref>
<ref name=dad3>[https://dadis-breed-datasheet-ws.firebaseapp.com/?country=AUS&specie=Goat&breed=British%20Alpine&lang=en Breed data sheet: British Alpine / Australia (Goat)]. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed December 2024.</ref>
<ref name=dave>David Mackenzie (1980). [https://archive.org/details/goathusbandry0000mack/page/189/mode/1up ''Goat Husbandry''], fourth edition. London; Boston: Faber and Faber.</ref>
<!---ref name=graham>Graham R. Duncanson (2012). [https://books.google.it/books?id=ynUPNHXayHQC&pg=PA30&hl=en ''Veterinary Treatment of Sheep and Goats'']. Wallingford: CABI. {{isbn|9781780640051}}.</ref>
<ref name=jan>Janet Vorwald Dohner (2001). ''The Encyclopedia of Historic and Endangered Livestock and Poultry Breeds''. New Haven, Connecticut; London: Yale University Press. {{isbn|0300088809}}.</ref--->
<ref name=rbst>[https://web.archive.org/web/20240805155123/https://www.rbst.org.uk/watchlist-overview Watchlist overview]. Kenilworth, Warwickshire: Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Archived 5 August 2024.</ref>
<ref name=sue>Sue Weaver (2021). [https://books.google.it/books?id=FagSEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA182&hl=en ''The Goat: A Natural History'']. Brighton: Ivy Press. {{isbn|9781782409489}}.</ref>
<ref name=val>Valerie Porter, Ian Lauder Mason (2020). [https://books.google.it/books?id=ZjvqDwAAQBAJ&hl=en&pg=PA369 ''Mason's World Dictionary of Livestock Breeds, Types and Varieties''] (sixth edition). Wallingford; Boston: CABI. {{isbn|9781789241532}}.</ref>
}}
{{British livestock|R.3}} [[Category:Goat breeds originating in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Goat breeds]]
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