Podolica

Podolica
Cow and calf
Bullock in Basilicata
Conservation status
  • FAO (2007): not listed:66
  • DAD-IS (2024): not at risk
Country of originItaly
Distribution
StandardANABIC
Usetriple-purpose: draught, beef, milk
Traits
Weight
  • Male:
    800 kg
  • Female:
    650 kg
Height
  • Male:
    150 cm
  • Female:
    145 cm
Skin colourblack
Coatgrey, black switch
Horn statushorned
  • Cattle
  • Bos (primigenius) taurus

The Podolica is an Italian breed of domestic cattle. It belongs to the Podolic group of grey cattle. It is raised in the southern Italian regions of Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise and Puglia. It was formerly distributed throughout most of mainland Italy and as far as Istria, Croatia, and where it is now regarded as a separate breed, the Istrian or Boškarin. The Podolica was in the past bred principally as a draught animal; with the mechanisation of agriculture following the Second World War, demand for draught oxen disappeared, and the Podolica is now raised for meat and – to a lesser extent – for milk.