Villard-de-Lans
(most common name in English)

(most common name):
• Villard de Lans
(local/other name):
• La race Villard-de-Lans

The Villard-de-Lans is named after a small town in the Vercors mountain range (Rhône-Alpes region) and is a composite (from 1850) of local Fémeline and Bressane cattle — that supposedly had been brought by monks from the Jura Mountains in the 1700s and were later absorbed by the French Simmental.

Starting in the 1900s: wars, farm mechanization, tuberculosis infection and crossbreeding with other breeds drastically reduced the Villard-de-Lans numbers.

• 1863 - Villard-de-Lans officially recognized
• 1950s - Montbéliard began replacing Villard-de-Lans for dairying
• 1958 - population was 7,500
• 1967 - encouragement began for crossbreeding with Blonde d’Aquitaine (for beef)
• 1970s - population was fewer than 100
• 1978 - Villard-de-Lans herdbook established
• 1980 - conservation program started (with some crosses with Blonde d’Aquitaine and Gelbvieh)
• 2010 - population was 411
• 2019 - population was 538

The Villard-de-Lans coat can be wheat to reddish in color and the muzzle is pink.

This page was last updated on: 2024-06-08

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