The Difficult Search For Real Swiss Cows

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) For tourists and locals alike, cows are inextricably linked with the image of Switzerland. But in most cases, this Swiss national symbol has non-Swiss origins. The search for an authentically Swiss cow is hard. This content was published on June 7, 2025 - 11:00 6 minutes

I'm mainly in charge of translating, proofreading and publishing articles for SWI swissinfo. I also occasionally write press reviews and original articles on "Swiss oddities" - the things that make Switzerland unique. After studying history and religious studies, I began my journalistic career at Radio Fribourg. After a spell in the newsroom at the Swiss Telegraphic Agency, I joined SWI swissinfo in 2000, where I specialised in federal politics and history. I now translate, proofread and produce stories.

• More from this auth
• French Departme

• Deutsch de Auf der Suche nach der verlorenen Kuh Read more: Auf der Suche nach der verlorenen Ku
• Français fr À la recherche de la vache perdue Original Read more: À la recherche de la vache perdu
• Italiano it Alla ricerca della mucca perduta Read more: Alla ricerca della mucca perdut

In Switzerland, cows are everywhere: in souvenir shops in the form of wooden figurines, on the packaging of many dairy products, and in art and folklore.

And, of course, in the fields and stalls. According to the animal statistics website IdentitasExternal link , at the end of April 2025 there were 1,505,003 registered cattle in Switzerland, including 664,032 cows. Cattle are the most common domesticated animal family in Switzerland – at least if we limit ourselves to declared and registered animals.

Cattle have been present in Switzerland for a very long time. The first traces of domestication date back to the Neolithic period, according to the Historical Dictionary of SwitzerlandExternal link . Over the centuries, cattle rearing grew considerably, with cheese even becoming one of Switzerland's main exports at the end of the 18^th century.

So you would expect Switzerland to have many different breeds of cow. But that's not the case – or rather, it's no longer the case.

“Of the 35 breeds once documented in Switzerland, only five remain: the original Brown Swiss, the Hérens breed, the original Simmental spotted breed, the Évolène breed and the Rätisches Grauvieh (Rhaetian grey cattle),” laments Pro Specie RaraExternal link , a foundation whose aim is to preserve Switzerland's plant and animal heritage.

This impoverishment of varieties can be explained by the quest for greater productivity.“These days, cattle breeding is not spared by the law of specialisation. Old breeds are being supplanted by new breeding lines that either are highly productive in terms of milk or produce a lot of meat very quickly,” the foundation says.

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