As expected in an ancient breed, its origin is somewhat unclear and is lost in the oral tradition of the people who lived with it for so many decades.
According to what the old farmers were explained, it seems that the Pallaresa Breed came to the current region of Pallars Sobirà arriving to the Vall d’Isil (Valls d’Àneu), coming from France (Ariège), through mountain passes such as Port de Salau, which is the border crossing, and therefore a means of communication, which centuries ago connected this Pyrenean valley with the French state; then they also began to enter through Vall de Cardós and Vall Ferrera.
This arrival to our lands may occurred thanks to the merchants or cattle dealers who supplied the region from all types of work animals or meat to any type of food.
At the same time, the latest studies provided results proving these white-colored bovines, that oral tradition says came from France, would come from the gray trunk of the steppes and their crossing with the native bovines of the time, giving the Pallaresa Breed. It could therefore be related to the Gasconne and Mirandaise breeds (currently present in the south of France and morphologically similar to the Pallaresa).
The migrations that occurred from the south of France, especially in the 17th-18th centuries, towards Vall d’Isil are perfectly documented. However, it has not been possible to know if the arrival of these white bovines was related to this factor. From here they spread to the rest of the valleys of the region and neighboring regions such as Vall d’Aran, Pallars Jussà and Alt Urgell.
However, cattle farming was not one of the predominant economic pillars in the Lleida Pyrenees during the 19th century, since the cattle houses were dedicated rather to equine cattle (horses, donkeys and mules), sheep for meat and wool, and even to the cultivation of the vineyard, leaving the bovine in a lower percentage and dedicated basically to work, being consequently of triple aptitude (work-meat-milk).
No written testimony of the Pallaresa Breed has been found during the 19th century, which was popularly called the “white cow or Blanca del Pallars” and is still remembered that way by older people. However, it has been possible to find some Livestock Affidavits from the end of the 19th century from different towns in Pallars Sobirà where in some it appears that people had white bovines, how tall they were and who owned them.
Thus we arrive to the 20th century, when we can begin to know something about our race, thanks to the memory of the elders.
It was during the first half of the 20th century when the Pallaresa had its maximum splendor, since the total bovine census of Pallars Sobirà had increased (although equine and wool cattle continued to predominate) for reasons such as the abandonment, in part, of the subsistence economy as a consequence of the arrival of communication routes to many towns, or the crisis in the cultivation of the vineyard due to phylloxera, among others.
It is estimated that 50% or more of the cattle in the region were of the Pallaresa breed (Special Livestock Registries, different municipalities, 1928-1953). The rest were some ecotype of the current Pyrenees (it could be the now extinct Catalan cow) and bovines with a dark layer (such as the so-called Mascarda or others with a black layer).
All the interviewed witnesses agree these were large cows, brave to farm, very docile and manageable, and very good calf breeders, with sufficient milk capacity for breeding and giving rise to good animals to sell.
Pictures found in the Pallars Sobirà Regional Historical Archive are also very important. We must also mention those of the Valls d’Àneu Cultural Council, those of the La Pobla de Segur Tourist Office and those of the Catalonia Excursionist Center, as well as those provided by individuals.
Towards the middle of the 20th century (50s-60s) the crisis of horse farming came due to mechanization. Therefore, as a rebound, the working cattle herd also suffered (as has just been said, the Blanca del Pallars was highly appreciated by people for its corpulence and strength to work), although at the end of the 50s there were still a number important number of animals of the Pallaresa breed (Livestock records, different municipalities, 1952-1962).
This fact, together with the introduction of dairy cattle breeds (Parda Alpina -imported from Switzerland- and later Friesian) the population of the Pallaresa breed was greatly decimated due to not being able to compete in milk production, and all the specimens began to cross with the new Bruna to produce milk (from the 1960s to the 1970s, the vast majority of farms became dairy).
Progressively, it remained in a residual form and disappeared by reabsorption with the Bruna Alpina, later named Bruna of the Pyrenees.
When the milk crisis arrived (mid-80s), the productive characteristics of existing cows in the Pyrenees were reoriented towards the search for good meat characteristics. Thus, the autochthonous bovines already existing in the area began to cross with the Bruna Alpina, providing the current Bruna dels Pirineus population. When this occurred, the Pallaresa could no longer come back due to its low number, despite being very similar in meat production.
Therefore, the following can be cited as causes of the practical extinction of the Pallaresa:
- Introduction of more productive dairy breeds when the economy of mountain cattle farms became dependent on milk production
- Introduction of bulls of other breeds by the Administrations during the dairy season (remember that at that time they only thought about production and not, as currently, about the protection of native breeds)
- Mechanization of agricultural activity
Pallaresa breed cows, as such, were progressively decreasing. At the beginning of the 1980s, the Pallaresa cow census did not reach 2% of the total cattle in the Pallars Sobirà region. From then on they were disseminated, each time in fewer numbers, through towns and huts in these regions where they had been for several centuries; reaching its practical disappearance; many were dying out, without pure offspring, due to a lack of purebred bulls.
Since the 80s it is quite documented where there have been. Until not many years ago they were still in Casa Sansa de Tor (Alins), in Aurós (La Guingueta de Àneu), in Estaron (Llavorsí). A little further back there were in Llagunes (Soriguera), Ribera de Cardós, Escàs (Rialp), Casa Badiot (Sort); among many other places. Before the milk boom, there were found almost in every house.
Today there is evidence of its presence in 8 farms.
In 2008, a historic milestone was achieved with its recognition by the Parliament of the Generalitat de Catalunya as an autochthonous Catalan breed.
Another important action was also the creation of the Association of Breeders in October 2010, with the subsequent entry into operation of the Genealogical Book on June 30, 2011, which includes all active Pallaresa cow herds, their updated census and many other data. of interest.
Subsequently, in 2015, it is also recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and included in the Official Catalog of Livestock Breeds of Spain.
This minority bovine population of the Lleida Pyrenees is the most typical example of a breed in a “relic” state in Catalonia. It constitutes a genetic patrimony of great value that cannot be lost, and its history is linked to that of the inhabitants of these regions, since they were partly their livelihood.
Thus, the Department of Agriculture of the Generalitat de Catalunya in collaboration with the Autonomous University of Barcelona (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine) has given its technical and financial support for almost 30 years now, for studies and promotion.