:Valdostana
{{use dmy dates|date=June 2014}}
{{use list-defined references|date=June 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2014}}
{{Infobox goat breed
| name = Valdostana
| image = Razza Valdostana abc8.JPG
| image_size =
| image_alt =
| image_caption =
| status = {{ubl|{{nobreak|FAO (2007): critical}}|DAD-IS (2022): critical{{r|dad2}}}}
| altname = Chamoisée Valdôtaine{{cn|date=October 2022}}
| country = Italy
| distribution = Valle d'Aosta
| standard = [http://www.assonapa.it/norme_ecc/CAPRINI-RA_Standard_WEB/Valdostana.htm MIPAAF]
| use = {{ubl|meat|milk|combat}}
| maleweight = 85 kg{{r|aspa}}
| femaleweight = 65 kg{{r|aspa}}
| maleheight = 80 cm{{r|aspa}}
| femaleheight = 75 cm{{r|aspa}}
| type =
| skincolour =
| woolcolour = {{ubl|ashen|black|brown|dark grey with blond}}
| facecolour =
| horns = {{nobreak|large and sabre-shaped in both sexes}}
| note =
}}
File:Bataille de chèvres a Challand-Saint-Anselme (cropped).jpg]]
The Valdostana is an Italian breed of domestic goat from the autonomous region of Valle d'Aosta in north-western Italy, from which it takes its name.{{r|bigi}} It is characterised by large sabre-shaped horns, which it uses in combat in the traditional local sport of goat-fighting.
It is an endangered breed: its conservation status is listed in DAD-IS as 'critical'.{{r|dad2}}
History
The Valdostana is a traditional regional breed of the autonomous region of Valle d'Aosta in north-western Italy, from which it takes its name.{{r|bigi}} The earliest written documentation of it dates from 1917.{{r|cabi|p=415}} It is reared particularly in the {{ill|Val d'Ayas|it}} and in the {{ill|Valle di Gressoney|it}}, and also in the Val Chiusella, the Valle di Locana and the Val di Susa in the upper Canavese, in the province of Turin, in Piemonte.{{r|bigi}} It was in the past distributed in the Alpi Graie and Alpi Pennine.{{r|bigi}}
It is one of the forty-three autochthonous Italian goat breeds of limited distribution for which a herd-book is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep- and goat-breeders.{{r|dm}}
It is a rare breed: in 2007 its conservation status was listed by the FAO as 'critical'.{{r|barb|p=68}} At the end of 2013 the registered population was variously reported as 959{{r|aspa2}} and as 856;{{r|dad}} in the 2020 the total number reported to DAD-IS was 71.{{r|dad2}}
Characteristics
The Valdostana is a rustic solidly-built goat of Alpine type, well suited to the mountainous terrain of the region.{{r|cabi|p=415}} There is considerable variation in the colour of the coat, which may be ashen, black, brown, or dark grey with some blond hair. The horns in both sexes are sabre-shaped and large;{{r|cabi|p=415}} this may be partly the result of selective breeding by farmers to improve the fighting ability of the animals.{{r|aspa3}}
Use
The Valdostana is kept both for meat, which is consumed both fresh and preserved in the form of goat salame, of Motsetta or of Violino di Capra; and for milk, which is used for cheese-making.{{r|bigi}} A study in 2002 found the average milk yield to be {{val|249|u=kg}} in 197 days.{{r|aspa3}}
It is much used in the traditional sport of goat-fighting, the {{lang|fr|bataille des chèvres}}. Since 1998 this sport has been regulated by the Association Comité Régional Batailles des Chèvres, which organises an annual regional championship.{{r|bigi}}
References
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{{Goat breeds of Italy}}