Welsh Black cattle enthusiasts meet

Press, 4 May 1984, Page 9

Welsh Black cattle enthusiasts meet

Breeders and devotees in New Zealand of a cattle breed they claim has “the best of all worlds in a single breed,” Welsh Black Cattle, will gather in Christchurch tomorrow and on Sunday for an annual meeting. It is the first annual general meeting of the Welsh Black Cattle Breeders’ Society of New Zealand to be held in Christchurch, according to the secretary, Mr John Kingston, of Oxford. The society has 26 members with a total of 1900 pure and part Welsh Blacks. The breed has been established in New Zealand for about 10 years and is claimed to offer many advantages over other British or exotic breeds. Among these claims are exceptional mothering ability and ease of calving, ability to do well on hill country and yet fatten quickly on good feed, and longevity. The rediscovery of the breed in the United King-

dom in recent years was due in part to its calving and mothering abilities. Cows have been mated extensively to European exotics and have produced big calves. But Mr Kingston maintains that the pure-bred Welsh Blacks can do well in trials. He points to his own success in past years in the now-discontinued Methven A. and P. Association’s weight gain trials. Classes for Welsh Black Cattle have not yet been established by any show association, but the society has mounted displays at several Royal Shows and other exhibitions. Until now it has not pressed for show classes, breeders believing that only limited competition would be possible. However, herds of up to 300 Welsh Black cows have become established in most regions of New Zealand and show competitions must come shortly.