The Appenzell, , , is a rare and endangered indigenous breed of white domestic goat from Switzerland. It originates in the "half-cantons" of the historic Appenzell region, Appenzell Ausserrhoden and Appenzell Innerrhoden, and has spread into the neighbouring Canton of St. Gallen.

History

The Appenzeller originates in the "half-cantons" of the historic Appenzell region, Appenzell Ausserrhoden and Appenzell Innerrhoden. A goat-breeders' association, the Ziegenzuchtgenossenschaft Appenzell, was founded in Innerrhoden in February 1902, and another, the Ziegenzuchtgenossenschaft Urnäsch, in Ausserrhoden in 1914.

The Schweizerischer Ziegenzuchtverband, the Swiss federation of cantonal goat breeders' associations, runs a conservation and recovery project for the Appenzeller which includes financial support for breeders and a controlled breeding programme. In 2007 the conservation status of the breed was listed by the FAO as "endangered-maintained".

In 2005, the Appenzell breed represented approximately 4.2% of the total registered Swiss goat population of about head. At the end of 2013 a population of 1900–2000 was reported to DAD-IS; in 2021 the population was reported to be between and , with 77 breeding males.

In the 1920s, the Appenzeller was cross-bred with the Saanen to create the composite Zürcher Ziege in the area of Zurich and Thurgau. A herd-book was started in 1926; in 1938, the remaining stock was merged into the Appenzeller. The Appenzeller also contributed to the development of the Toggenburg.

Characteristics

The Appenzeller is completely white, with a medium-long to long hair coat. It is usually polled; horned animals are accepted. The milk yield averages just over per year.

References

Tierzuchtbericht 2020: Fachkommission für Tierzucht[ (in German). Appenzell Ausserrhoden; Amt für Landwirtschaft. Accessed January 2022.

Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to: 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. . Archived 23 June 2020.

Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. .

Breed data sheet: Appenzellerziege/Switzerland. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed June 2014.

Breed data sheet: Appenzellerziege / Switzerland (Goat). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed January 2022.

Ferdinand Fuchs (1977). [ Bauernarbeit in Appenzell Innerrhoden: Sachen, Methoden, Wörter] (in German). Schriften der Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für Volkskunde, volume 61. Basel: Krebs; Bonn: Habelt in Komm.

Hans-Peter Grunenfelder (editor) (2003). Agricultural Genetic Resources in the Alps. St. Gallen: Monitoring Institute for Rare Breeds and Seeds in Europe. Accessed July 2017.

Tableaux des races: Races caprines suisses – races menacées (in French). Schweizerischer Ziegenzuchtverband. Archived 15 July 2014.

Appenzellerziege (in German). Schweizerischer Ziegenzuchtverband. Accessed January 2022.