Santa Inês sheep

Santa Inês
Conservation status
Other namesPelo de Boi de Bahia[3]: 357 
Country of originBrazil
Distribution
  • Bolivia
  • Malaysia
  • Paraguay
  • Uruguay[4]
Traits
Weight
  • Male:
    100 kg[2]
  • Female:
    75 kg[2]
Height
  • Male:
    65 cm[2]
  • Female:
    60 cm[2]
Horn statuspolled

The Santa Inês is a Brazilian breed of domestic sheep. It is a hair sheep, growing hair rather than wool, and is reared both for meat and for hides.

It is the principal hair sheep breed of the country, and is larger and faster-growing than either of the other two important hair sheep breeds of north-eastern Brazil, the Brazilian Somali and the Morada Nova.[5][6]

It was bred in the 1940s in Bahia State, in north-eastern Brazil, but its exact origins are not clear. It has a greater resistance to infection by gastrointestinal nematodes than European meat breeds such as the Île-de-France and the Suffolk.[7]

History

The Santa Inês was bred in the 1940s in Bahia State, in north-eastern Brazil.[8]: 904 [9]: 26  Its origins remain unclear.[10] It was formerly thought that it derived from cross-breeding of the Italian Bergamasca with a local sheep of Crioula type such as the Rabo Largo, possibly with some contribution from the Morada Nova or from hair sheep of African origin;[8]: 904 [10][11][12] modern studies suggest that this history may be incomplete or incorrect.[9]: 26 

A herd-book was established in 1977.[2] In 2022 there were approximately 120000 of the sheep, with about 40000 rams and 80000 ewes.[2] The conservation status of the breed was listed as "not at risk" both by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 2007 and in the DAD-IS database in 2026.[1]: 147 [2]

Characteristics

The Santa Inês is larger and faster-growing than either of the other two important hair sheep breeds of north-eastern Brazil, the Brazilian Somali and the Morada Nova.[6] Body weights are variously reported as 100 kg for rams and 75 kg for ewes,[2] or as 70 kg and 40–50 kg respectively;[8]: 904  the corresponding average heights at the withers are 65 cm and 60 cm.[2]

It is a hair sheep, growing hair rather than wool, and is polled and lop-eared.[8]: 904  The colour of the coat is variable, and may be black, white or red; pied and spotted patterns are seen.[8]: 904 

It has a greater resistance to infection by gastrointestinal nematodes than European meat breeds such as the Île-de-France and the Suffolk.[7]

Use

The Santa Inês is reared both for meat and for hides.[9]: 16 

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Santa Inês (sheep).
  1. ^ a b Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to: The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Breed data sheet: Santa Ines / Brazil (Sheep). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed February 2026.
  3. ^ Valerie Porter, Ian Lauder Mason (2020). Mason's World Dictionary of Livestock Breeds, Types and Varieties (sixth edition). Wallingford; Boston: CABI. ISBN 9781789241532.
  4. ^ Transboundary breed: Santa Ines. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed February 2026.
  5. ^ Concepta McManusa, Samuel Rezende Paivab, Felipe Pimentelc, Daniel Pimentela, Vanessa Peripollid, Tiago do Prado Paime (2024). Bibliometric analysis of the Santa Ines sheep breed. Applied Veterinary Research. 3 (2): 2024010. doi:10.31893/avr.2024010.
  6. ^ a b M.H. Rajab, T.C. Cartwright, P.F. Dahm, E.A.P. Figueiredo (1992). Performance of three tropical hair sheep breeds. Journal of Animal Science. 70 (11): 3351–3359. doi:10.2527/1992.70113351x.
  7. ^ a b A.F.T. Amarante, P.A. Bricarello, R.A. Rocha, S.M. Gennari (2004). Resistance of Santa Ines, Suffolk and Ile de France sheep to naturally acquired gastrointestinal nematode infections. Veterinary Parasitology. 120 (1–2): 91–106. doi:10.1016/j.vetpar.2003.12.004.
  8. ^ a b c d e 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.
  9. ^ a b c Arthur da Silva Mariante, Concepta McManus, José Francisco Mendonça (editors) (2003). Country Report on the State of Animal Genetic Resources: Brazil. Brasília: Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology. ISSN 0102-0110, 99. Annex to: Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 17 July 2021.
  10. ^ a b Luciana Cristine Vasques Villela ([s.d.]). Santa Inês (in Portuguese). Brasilia: Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária: Agência Embrapa de Informação Tecnológica. Archived 4 May 2016.
  11. ^ 15. Santa Inês (in Portuguese). Bagé, Rio Grande do Sul: Associação Brasileira de Criadores de Ovinos. Archived 16 June 2017.
  12. ^ Ian Lauder Mason (1980). Prolific Tropical Sheep. 'FAO Animal Production and Health Paper 17. ISBN 9251008450. Also available here.
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