The Busha is an indigenous breed of cattle in many Balkan countries. It has been bred
for centuries. It belongs to primitive shorthorn cattle (Bos brachyceros europaeus). These
cattle used to be the dominant and most important breed in almost all Balkan
countries until the 1950s and 1960s, but today in lowland areas where intensive farming is
practiced they have already been replaced by more productive and specialized breeds of
cattle. In Macedonia this breed has officially been classified as a triple purpose
breed (raised for meat, milk and draft) but considering its low production capabilities it is
more similar to some primitive draft breeds. This breed is part of the National
Biodiversity Program for the conservation of indigenous breeds of animals in
the Republic of Macedonia. Economic, cultural and scientific reasons underlie the need
to protect the biological diversity of autochthonous breeds of cattle such as the Busha.
The aim of the research was to establish a gene bank for different strains of adult
Busha cattle in the Republic of Macedonia. To this end, 998 samples of blood, 1100 hair coat
samples and 958 doses of semen were collected from adult Busha cattle. Also, a phenotypic
characterization was done on adult Busha cattle for their major productive and morphological
traits. During the last few years, there have been certain negative trends in the population
size of Busha cattle in accordance with the decline of the rural population in the hills
and uplands and young people’s disinterest in rearing indigenous breeds of cattle such as the
Busha.
Key words: cattle, Busha, autochthonous breed, gene bank, biodiversity, phenotypic
traits.
