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Archive of "News" about Dex-Info

 

 

About British Royalty and Dexters  - from Ralph Whitlock's book, "Royal Farmers"

 

 

Some correspondence with the Royal Archives at Windsor Castle about Queen Victoria and Prince Edward's Dexters

 


 

Dedicated to Information on Dexter Cattle

A Gateway to Internet Resources

Making Historical Information and Contemporary Research Available to All

  

 

Photo from "Livestock Journal" 1899 of Dexter bull Simple Simon, owned by Mr E. Sydney, Upminster in Essex, England - A frequent Show Champion. Photo courtesy of Ted Neal, from his book "Life and Times of Dexters".

Dexter cattle are an ancient dual-purpose Irish breed, the smallest of the British breeds. They originated as a hardy breed of small mountain cattle run on small family holdings. At the turn of the 20th century, Dexters became the show cattle of the English gentry.

 

Rob Wendorf of Sutton Bonington in Leicestershire, England, with Sherry Kindred (another local Dexter breeder) and her two grand-daughters, with Dexter cows from Rob's Riverside herd. Photo: JLP, 12 April 2003.

As the 20th century progressed, Dexter numbers declined. In the 1970s, they were designated as rare and endangered. More recently, their attractiveness to small landholders has seen a significant increase in their numbers globally. As a result, the Dexter is the best example of a domestic cattle breed saved from extinction.

 

From this origin and history can be traced the breed’s main attributes:

 

Small  Hardy  Efficient  Versatile  Intelligent

Full of Personality

 

NZ Dexter breeder, Heather Cunningham, with one of Diana Lusty's red Dexter cows, near Staplehurst in Kent, England. Photo: JLP, 30 April 2003.The contemporary Dexter fulfils a very wide variety of functions in a diversity of ecological and economic settings. Click on the following links to find out more about this unique cattle breed:

 

 

*Small Breed        *Multi-Purpose Smallholder's Cattle    

Black Dexter cow with dun calf, just outside the village of Tyn-Y-Groes near Conwy in Gwynedd, Wales, from Morna Arkle's Bryn-Y-Pyn herd. Photo: JLP, 20 April 2003. *Commercial Dairy Breed   

*Market-Niche Natural Beef  

*Ideal House/Nurse Cow   

*Family Pet and Companion   

*Show Animal   

*Environmentally-Responsible Grazer  

*Rare Breed       *Ancient Breed

*Women and Dexters  

*Role in Mainstream Agriculture

 

 

WHAT CAN BE FOUND ON THIS WEBSITE?

 

INTERNET RESOURCES - How to use the Internet to find out about Dexter cattle, including a comprehensive Dexter Subject Directory and useful Internet Guides

 

ARTICLES - Writings about Dexters, including Summaries of important publications, and Original Articles on this website and others

 

ISSUES - Comments on important issues about Dexters

 

ABOUT US - Who's behind this website?

 

CONTENTS - A more detailed list of what's on this website

 

DEXTER STUDS - Pages about some Dexter breeders and their cattle

 

  Where can I find out about Buying A Dexter?

 

What books and videos about Dexters are currently available?  

 

Where can I buy a copy of Beryl Rutherford's new book "My Love Affair With The Dexter"?

 

List of Photos of Dexter cattle on this website

 

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Page Last Edited: 20-Jul-2007