Angus cattle are a breed of cattle much used in
beefBeef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...
production. They were developed from cattle native to the counties of
AberdeenshireAberdeenshire or the County of Aberdeen is a registration county of Scotland. This area is also a lieutenancy area.Until 1975 Aberdeenshire was one of the counties of Scotland, governed by a county council from 1890...
and
AngusAngus is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross and Dundee City...
in Scotland, and are known as Aberdeen Angus in most parts of the world.
They are naturally polled (do not have horns) and solid black or red, although the
udderAn udder is an organ formed of the mammary glands of female quadruped mammals, especially ruminants such as cattle, goats, sheep and deer. The udder is a single mass hanging beneath the animal, consisting of pairs of mammary glands...
may be white. There have always been both red and black individuals in the population, and in the USA they are regarded as two separate breeds - Red Angus and Black Angus. Black Angus is the most popular beef breed of cattle in the United States, with 324,266 animals registered in 2005.
Scotland
For some time before the 1800s, the hornless cattle in Aberdeenshire and Angus were called
Angus doddies. Hugh Watson can be considered the founder of the breed; he was instrumental in selecting the best black, polled animals for his herd. His favorite bull was Old Jock, who was born 1842 and sired by Grey-Breasted Jock. Old Jock was given the number "1" in the Scottish Herd Book when it was founded. Another of Watson's notable animals was a cow, Old Granny, which was born in 1824 and said to have lived to 35 years of age and to have produced 29 calves. The pedigrees of the vast majority of Angus cattle alive today can be traced back to these two animals.
United States
On May 17, 1873, George Grant brought four Angus bulls, but unfortunately no cows, to
VictoriaVictoria is a city in Ellis County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,214.-History:A group of English and Scottish colonists led by a Scotsman named George Grant founded Victoria in 1873 on land he had purchased from the Kansas Pacific Railway. They named the...
,
KansasKansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
. He took the bulls to the fair in
Kansas CityKansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
where they were the topic of much conversation at a time when
ShorthornThe Shorthorn breed of cattle originated in the North East of England in the late 18th century. The breed was developed as dual purpose, suitable for both dairy and beef production; however there were always certain blood lines within the breed which emphasised one quality or the other...
s and
LonghornsLonghorn cattle are a long-horned brown and white breed of beef cattle originating from Craven in the north of England. They have a white patch along the line of their spine and under their bellies....
were the norm. The black hornless animals were often called "freaks" by those who saw them. The bulls were used only in crossbreeding and have no registered progeny today. However, their
offspringIn biology, offspring is the product of reproduction, of a new organism produced by one or more parents.Collective offspring may be known as a brood or progeny in a more general way...
left a favorable impression on the cattlemen of the time and soon more Angus cattle were imported from Scotland to form purebred herds.
On November 21, 1883, the American Aberdeen Angus Association was founded in
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
,
IllinoisIllinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, but the organization's name was shortened in the 1950s to the
American Angus AssociationThe American Angus Association was founded in Chicago, Illinois, in 1883, with 60 members. Its original name was shortened in the 1950s from the American Aberdeen-Angus Breeders' Association...
. The Association's first herd book was published on March 1, 1885. At this time both red and black animals were registered without distinction. However, in 1917 the Association barred the registering of red and other colored animals in an effort to promote a solid black breed.
Red AngusRed Angus is a red coloured breed of beef cattle selected from the population of Aberdeen Angus cattle.-Origin:Although the black was more fashionable the recessive red gene still produced some red animals. From the founding of the Aberdeen Angus herd book in 1862 red and black animals have been...
cattle occur as the result of a recessive gene. Breeders collecting red cattle from black herds began the
Red Angus Association of AmericaThe Red Angus Association of America was formed in 1954 by seven breeders of reds cropped from best black Aberdeen Angus herds in America. RAAA was designed around the new scientific principles of performance testing...
in 1954. Other countries such as the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
still register both colors in the same herd book.
Genetic disorders
From 2008 to 2010, The American Angus Association discovered several genetic disorders in the breed referred to as "AM," "NH" and "CA." A test for dwarfism was discovered several years before 2008. A very small number of Black Angus, some Red Angus, Holsteins, Simmental and Hereford as well as humans carry OS also known as
OsteopetrosisOsteopetrosis, literally "stone bone", also known as marble bone disease and Albers-Schonberg disease is an extremely rare inherited disorder whereby the bones harden, becoming denser, in contrast to more prevalent conditions like osteoporosis, in which the bones become less dense and more brittle,...
or "Marble Bone."
The four recessive defects can produce affected calves. A "recessive defect" requires both parents to carry the recessive gene to have a calf that is "affected" or shows the defect, and then only an average of one in four will show the defect even with both parents carrying the defective gene. The four recessive defects that can be tested for in the Black Angus breed are: Arthrogryposis Multiplex (AM) referred to as
curly calf; Neuropathic Hydrocephalus (NH) sometimes known as
water head; Contractural Arachnodactyly (CA) formerly referred to by the name of “Fawn Calf Syndrome;" and dwarfism. DNA testing is now available for AM, NH, CA and one type of dwarfism. AM, CA and dwarfism are not deadly to the calf; however, calves affected with any one of these defects may be easier prey to predators and may also live a shortened life due to other complications. An affected NH calf will generally be born dead; however, an affected calf with this defect is very serious because the mother cow can die during an unsupervised birth, or she may require a cesarean section due to the enlarged head of the calf. However, both parents need to carry the recessive gene for any calf to be affected.
Because of these defects, the American Angus Association has chosen to remove the carrier animals from the breed and has instituted a somewhat involved program to remove the defective animals, but especially their offspring, from the breed. The American Angus Association has made rules to govern AM, NH and CA so that by January 1, 2012 for AM, and June 15, 2012 for NH, no Angus will be registered that is a carrier. After that time, owners may use carrier bulls or carrier cows in their own herds but cannot register offspring unless the offspring are tested defect free. This extended time period allows breeders to recover their registered herds by replacing carrier mothers with non-carrier daughters. An animal designated as a carrier of dwarfism will not have offspring registered.
Uses
Angus cattle are widely used in crossbreeding to reduce the likelihood of
dystociaDystocia is an abnormal or difficult childbirth or labour. Approximately one fifth of human labours have dystocia.Dystocia may arise due to incoordinate uterine activity, abnormal fetal lie or presentation, absolute or relative cephalopelvic disproportion, or a massive fetal tumor such as a...
(difficult calving). They are also used as a genetic dehorner as the polled gene is passed on as a dominant trait.
During the latter part of 2003 and the early part of 2004, the American
fast foodFast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a...
industry assisted in a
public relationsPublic relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
campaign to promote the supposedly superior quality of beef produced from Angus cattle (“Angus beef”). Back Yard Burger was the first such large scale product sold in the US, dating back to 2002. Angus burgers are also menu items for chains such as
Hardee'sHardee's is a restaurant chain, located mostly in the Southeast and Midwestern regions of the United States. It has evolved through several corporate ownerships since its establishment in 1960. It is currently owned and operated by CKE Restaurants. Along with its sibling restaurant chain, Carl's...
and Canadian-based
Harvey'sHarvey's is a fast food restaurant chain that operates in Canada, with locations concentrated in southern Ontario, southern Quebec, as well as the Maritimes, Manitoba, British Columbia, and Alberta. It serves hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, onion rings, and other traditional fast food fare. The...
. Beginning in 2006, McDonalds began testing hamburgers made with Angus beef at a number of its restaurants in several regions in the US; the company said that customer response to the burgers was positive and began selling the burger at all US locations in July 2009. At the same time, McDonald's Australia also began selling two variants of the burger, the Grand Angus and the Mighty Angus, using
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n-bred Angus, in their outlets.
The American Angus Association set up the "Certified Angus Beef" brand in 1978. The goal of this brand was to promote the idea that Angus beef was of higher quality than beef from other breeds of cattle. Cattle are eligible for "Certified Angus Beef" evaluation if they are at least 51% black and exhibit Angus influence, which include black
Simmental cattleSimmental cattle are a versatile breed of cattle originating in the valley of the Simme river, in the Bernese Oberland of western Switzerland.-European origin:...
and crossbreds. However, they must meet all 10 of the following criteria, which were refined in January 2007 to further enhance product consistency, to be labeled "Certified Angus Beef" by USDA Graders:
- Modest or higher degree of marbling
- Medium or fine marbling texture
- "A" maturity
- 10 to 16 square-inch ribeye area
- Less than 1,000-pound hot carcass weight
- Less than 1-inch fat thickness
- Moderately thick or thicker muscling
- No hump on the neck exceeding 5 cm (2")
- Practically free of capillary rupture
- No dark cutting characteristics
See also
- Red Angus
Red Angus is a red coloured breed of beef cattle selected from the population of Aberdeen Angus cattle.-Origin:Although the black was more fashionable the recessive red gene still produced some red animals. From the founding of the Aberdeen Angus herd book in 1862 red and black animals have been...
- List of cattle breeds
- Red Angus Association of America
The Red Angus Association of America was formed in 1954 by seven breeders of reds cropped from best black Aberdeen Angus herds in America. RAAA was designed around the new scientific principles of performance testing...
- American Angus Association
The American Angus Association was founded in Chicago, Illinois, in 1883, with 60 members. Its original name was shortened in the 1950s from the American Aberdeen-Angus Breeders' Association...
- Kobe beef
refers to cuts of beef from the black Tajima-ushi breed of Wagyū cattle, raised according to strict tradition in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The meat is generally considered to be a delicacy, renowned for its flavour, tenderness, and fatty, well-marbled texture. Kobe beef can be prepared as steak,...
External links
Breed associations
Unless otherwise stated, the associations below register both red and black animals.
Australia:
Canada:
Denmark:
New Zealand:
Portugal
USA: