Algarvia
A red or chestnut triple-purpose breed from the Algarve, rebuilt from survivors
The Algarvia is a triple-purpose taurine breed from the Algarve, in southern Portugal, with a red or chestnut coat. It was once crossed out of existence and counted extinct, and the small stock kept today was built up again from the animals that survived.
- Recorded as a historic breed of the Algarve from 1868
- Crossed with Charolaise and Limousine stock and once counted extinct
- FAO called it extinct in 2007; DAD-IS in 2025 placed it as critical-maintained
- Two herds held the whole 2024 breeding stock: 2 bulls, 25 cows
- Cows weigh around 600 kg and bulls around 800 kg
What do Algarvia cattle look like?
The Algarvia is a taurine breed, one of the humpless cattle of Europe, and it is classed as triple-purpose, which means it has been kept for milk, for meat and for work. Its coat is red or chestnut, a deeper shade than the golden yellow of the older population. Cows reach roughly 600 kg and bulls roughly 800 kg, both heavier than the animals they replaced. The breed belongs to the Algarve, in the south of Portugal, and it has been documented there as a historic type of the region since 1868.
Where does the Algarvia come from?
The Algarve, in southern Portugal, is the home of this breed, and it has been recorded there since 1868. In the second half of the twentieth century, cattle imported from France were used on it, and over the years the old Algarvia was crossed away until it was treated as extinct. From the handful that remained, breeders brought the stock back during the opening years of the twenty-first century. The Associação de Criadores de Gado do Algarve keeps the breed going today.
How the Algarvia is bred and kept
Responsibility for the breed lies with the Associação de Criadores de Gado do Algarve. Numbers are tiny: in 2024 the registered stock was two herds, with 2 bulls and 25 cows between them. That is the entire breeding base, so the breed sits at the edge. In the later twentieth century, crossing with imported Charolaise and Limousine stock had absorbed the old bloodlines and the breed was thought lost. The herd kept now comes from the few animals of that time.
Algarvia, drawn
What the Algarvia is kept for
The Algarvia is a triple-purpose breed. That covers three jobs at once: the cows are milked, the animals are raised for meat, and oxen have been used for draught work. The present stock is small, and its role is mainly to keep the breed in existence. Milk and beef are the everyday products of the breed, while draught work belongs to its history in the Algarve.
The land and climate of the Algarvia
The breed takes its name from the Algarve, the region at the southern edge of Portugal, and its distribution is given as that region. Breeders there have kept this type of cattle for well over a century, and the stock that exists today is held in the same part of the country. The Algarve is the only area attached to the breed.
Numbers, conservation and the herd book
Accounts of the breed's state differ. The FAO set it down as extinct in 2007, while the 2025 entry on DAD-IS calls it critical-maintained, a category for breeds kept going by deliberate effort. In 2024 the whole breeding stock was 2 bulls and 25 cows, spread over two herds. The Associação de Criadores de Gado do Algarve looks after the breed. Its distribution is the Algarve, in southern Portugal.
Questions people ask about Algarvia
Where does the Algarvia come from?
It comes from the Algarve, the southern region of Portugal. The breed has been recorded there as a historic type since 1868, and its distribution is still given as the Algarve.
What is the Algarvia kept for?
It is classed as triple-purpose, so it has been kept for milk, for meat and for work with oxen. Today the stock is very small and the breed is kept mainly for itself.
How many Algarvia cattle are left?
In 2024 the breeding stock was 2 bulls and 25 cows, held in two herds. The FAO recorded the breed as extinct in 2007, and DAD-IS in 2025 listed it as critical-maintained.
What colour is an Algarvia?
The coat is red or chestnut. That is a darker colour than the golden yellow of the original breed, which the present animals were built up again from.
Good reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Algarvia (cattle)", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). EveryCow rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. Sizes, colours and customs differ from one herd, valley or breeder to the next. Folk beliefs are described as tradition, never as advice. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-16.
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