Galloway

The Galloway is a polled cattle breed originating from the Galloway region in the south-west of Scotland. Since the 1990's, Galloways can be found in several Dutch nature reserves. Typically, the Galloway is black in color, but blond animals can also been found. The thick curly coat is ideal for keeping the animals warm and dry. The Galloways from Scotland are kept extensively in less productive landscapes, mainly with the goal of meat production. Because of this, the Galloway is still extremely self-reliant and, for example, quite capable of calving independently. It was these characteristics, together with their easy-going nature, that lead to the animal being brought to the Netherlands for grazing in nature reserves.

By now, the Galloway has undergone more than 25 years of de-domestication in the Dutch countryside. Undesirable traits such as precociousness hardly occur anymore. The fact that the Galloway has no horns is both an advantage and a disadvantage. Because of the lack of horns, the Galloway has a friendlier appearance. For grazing, however, this is a loss. Cattle with horns use them to prune woody areas, but snapping and pulling branches and twigs with their horns. Remarkably, Galloway bulls are still very well capable of making imposing bull pits, which are sometimes dug out more than a meter deep. Bull pits are vital to several species of sand bees, contributing to a healthy and biodiverse environment.