Asinara donkey

The Asinara donkey, Italian: Asino dell'Asinara (Italian pronunciation: [ˈaːzino dellaziˈnaːra]), is a breed of feral donkey indigenous to the island of Asinara, which lies off the north-west coast of Sardinia, Italy, in the province of Sassari.[2] Most of the population is wholly or partly albinistic; the small number of grey donkeys on the island are also considered part of the population, and are probably heterozygous carriers of the albino gene.[3]:158 The Asinara donkey is one of the eight autochthonous donkey breeds of limited distribution recognised by the Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali, the Italian ministry of agriculture and forestry.[4]:18 It is called ainu, borricu or molenti in Sardinian.[5]

Asinara donkey
Asinara donkeys
Other namesAsino dell'Asinara
Country of originItaly
DistributionSardinia
StandardMIPAAF
Traits
Weight
  • 80–90 kg[1]:14
Height
  • 80–105 cm[1]:14
Coatusually white
Distinguishing featurespredominantly albinistic
With pack saddle at Fieracavalli, Verona, 2014

There are approximately 120 individuals on the island. Others are in the natural reserve of Porto Conte in Alghero and at the Istituto di Incremento Ippico at Foresta Burgos, and a few are raised in Tuscany and in Emilia Romagna.[3]:158

History

The Asinara donkey probably derives from a chance mutation in the population of Sardinian donkeys abandoned on the island by the inhabitants when they were forcibly evacuated from it following the law of 28 June 1885, under which Asinara was to be transformed into a lazaret and penal colony. It is also possible that the breed descends from white donkeys imported from Egypt in the nineteenth century by the Duca dell'Asinara.[3]:158

gollark: I am now going to smelt an other iron ore because this is all manual ææææ.
gollark: I am now going to use my furnace to smelt an iron ore. Mwahahahaha.
gollark: Activate "furnace".
gollark: Built "furnace".
gollark: Built "mine".

References
  1. Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 9781780647944.
  2. Breed data sheet: Asino dell'Asinara / Italy. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed September 2013.
  3. Daniele Bigi, Alessio Zanon (2008). Atlante delle razze autoctone: Bovini, equini, ovicaprini, suini allevati in Italia (in Italian). Milan: Edagricole. ISBN 9788850652594.
  4. Norme tecniche: Allegato 2 a D.M. 9742 del 7 maggio 2012 (in Italian). Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali. Accessed September 2013.
  5. White donkey. Regione Autonoma della Sardegna. Archived 22 July 2011.
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