The Grey Cattle are one of the oldest cattle breeds of the Alps. The Tirolese Greys are robust, rather little and sure-footed. In earlier times, the Grey Cattle used to be bred at high-altitude alpine pastures.
These old cattle breed, which nowadays can only rarely be found, used to be kept primarily as oxen (= castrated bulls) in earlier times. The cattle were used as strong draft animals for transports or in the fields as the oxen were considerably easier to keep and less demanding and particular than horses. Moreover, the cattle were fattened for optimized milk and beef production. So, it is not surprising that such oxen can mainly be found in places where transit roads across the Alps have existed from ancient times, such as in the Wipptal valley close to the Brenner pass.
The Grey Cattle used to be the most favored animals for meat production as they were easy to breed at the oxen pastures until they were ready for slaughter. If the pastures were lush and fertile, the animals could be directly sold to the butchers without the need of any supplementary feeding. The pastures of the Schmirntal and Valsertal valleys (lateral valleys of the Wipptal valley), for instance, provided the perfect environment for the breeding of Grey Cattle.
Therefore, the farmers of this region have decided to revive the tradition of breeding Grey Cattle and to make the pasture ox a culinary highlight and trademark of the region. The pasture ox does not only provide top quality meat but also conveys a nice bit of Tirolean tradition and history.
24 Memorable Hiking Hours
© 2012 Tirol Werbung
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