Saanen goat

History

The Saanen originates in the historic region of Saanen (French: Comté de Gessenay) and in the neighbouring Simmental, both in the Bernese Oberland, in the southern part of the Canton of Bern, in western Switzerland.

It is reported from more than eighty countries. The total world population is reported to be over 900000 head. Of these, some 14000 are in Switzerland.

Since the nineteenth century it has been exported to many countries around the world and has given rise to many local sub-breeds, often through cross-breeding with local goats. Among these local variants are the Banat White in Romania, the British Saanen, the French Saanen, the Israeli Saanen, the Russian White, the Weiße Deutsche Edelziege in Germany, and the Yugoslav Saanen.

A black variant, the Sable Saanen, was recognised as a breed in New Zealand in the 1980s. Since 2005 Saanen stock in the United States of any colour but white or pale cream can be registered as Sable, a distinct breed; it is not reported to the DAD-IS database of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.