The history of breeding for polled cattle

In this review, the history of breeding for polled cattle is compiled from literature as well as graphic representations of cattle in art and science. Domesticated taurine cattle originated around 8500 years BCE in the Near East and spread from there to Africa as well as to Europe. Earliest findings of polled domesticated cattle are from today’s Slovakia and Germany from 6000 years BCE. Textual findings and especially graphic displays can be found of polled cattle in Ancient Egypt. Although archaeological finds of skulls that can be evaluated for natural polledness are rare, archaeological texts and graphical displays indicate that genetically polled cattle in Ancient Egypt were present and quite numerous. Polled cattle apparently were also kept by Germanic tribes and can be followed through medieval times into the 17th and 18th century where textual accounts are more frequent. In Scandinavian countries and Great Britain polled cattle have survived in greater proportions up to today while in the middle of Europe polled cattle were not well regarded by farmers and almost became extinct. Among the British breeds, Angus and Galloway were established as beef cattle breeds in the 17th/18th century, and still flourish. However, the British polled dairy breed Suffolk became extinct. It was one of the ancestral breeds of the Red Polled beef breed and was used in attempts to promote polled dairy cattle in France in the 19th century. Reports of single individuals in polled cattle found in predominantly horned populations possibly indicate several origins of the polled mutations. Recently, at least two different types of mutations, located on BTA01, have been found to be responsible for the mutation commonly referred to as the polled allele. One is the so-called ‘Celtic’ type, found in Scandinavia and Britain while the’‘Friesian’ type is found in cattle of the Holstein family. Today, aspects of animal welfare more and more influence farmers’ attitudes towards naturally polled cattle and also governmental policies play an important role. For the important horned dairy breeds of central Europe, e.g. Holstein, Brown Swiss and Fleckvieh, as well as for the beef breed Charolais, breeding programs for the introgression of the polled allele are starting and will be aided by new tools such as genomic selection.