Vaynol cattle

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The Vaynol cattle are one of Britain’s rarest breeds. They come from Wales and are listed as Critically Endangered, with fewer than 150 breeding animals left in the UK.

Appearance and size
- Coat: white with black points on the ears, or sometimes black all over.
- Horns: long, curved horns.
- Size: bulls weigh about 400–450 kg; cows about 300–350 kg.

Origins and history
- They are descended from ancient white parkland cattle from Britain and Ireland, closely related to the White Park and Chillingham cattle.
- The herd began in 1872 at Vaynol Park in North Wales as a semi-wild herd.
- After the owner’s death in 1980, the herd moved around England. By 1989 there was only one herd left.
- In the early 1990s the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) bought the herd and moved it several times in search of a permanent home.
- The original herd is now at Temple Newsam Home Farm in West Yorkshire, run by Leeds City Council. Temple Newsam hosts Europe’s largest working rare breeds farm and a 1694 barn.

Current status and conservation
- There are three officially registered Vaynol herds in the UK: Temple Newsam, East Torrington in Lincolnshire, and a third herd in Scotland formed in 2012 with help from The Prince of Wales’s Charitable Foundation.
- The RBST maintains the breed book and runs breeding programs to avoid inbreeding.
- A conservation program started in 2006 to map the breed’s genetics. In 2007, the first calf was born from artificial insemination using semen from a bull 30 years old.
- A satellite herd was created at East Torrington in 2009. In 2013 a female calf was born there after artificial insemination of Templeson Tania.
- The Lincolnshire herd (East Torrington) includes about 5 cows and 4 heifers, plus a new calf. The Scottish third herd has around 4 cows and 2 heifers. Spreading the herds helps protect the breed from disease and supports future breeding.

Lifestyle and use
- Vaynol cattle are generally kept on large green meadows on estates and in national parks.
- They are used for beef, and may also be used for leather.
- They are seen as semi-feral animals because of their limited numbers and increased human contact.

In short, the Vaynol is a very rare, old-type cattle from Wales, kept alive today by careful breeding and multiple herds across the UK.