Brue Highlanders make a moo

24
Stornoway Gazette
www.stornowaygazette.co.uk Thursday, August 1, 2013
Brue Highlanders
make a moo-ve
to the Swiss Alps
by Michelle Robson
[email protected]
Three Lewis ladies are feeling on top of the world this
month as they make a new life
for themselves high up in the
Swiss Alps!
Ella a’ Ghlinne of Brue, Brighde of Tom Buidhe and Ciorstaidh of Tom Buidhe are
pedigree Highland heifers
sold by Brue Highlanders to a
Swiss farmer whose pastures
lie more than 1,530 metres
above sea level.
The sale is a first export
for the Brue Highlanders fold
owned by Kenny and Lesley
Matheson and is the first import for the SwissfarmersJon
and Erika Janett who have a
large stock of Scottish Highland cattle.
Explaining how the sale
came about, Lesley said:
“Within 24 hours of putting
an advert on our website to
sell the three heifers, we were
contacted by Jon and Erika
Janett. They had visited us
three years ago to see the cattle and we had kept in touch
with them through Facebook
ever since. They fell in love
with Ella and wanted to buy
her but we didn’t expect anything to come from it because
of the distance involved.”
The wheels were put in
motion quickly and the three
heifers were soon en route to
their new home in Tschlin
in eastern Switzerland with
their journey starting with a
30 day stay in quarantine in
the Scottish Borders.
They were then collected
in an air conditioned cattle
lorrysentfromGermany.Two
drivers accompanied the animals so that the journey could
Summer Alpine pastures
continue non-stop with just
one overnight stay enroute.
They join the Janett’s 45
cattle on the Alpine farm and
due to a webcam in their shed,
Lesleyisabletokeepaneye on
her girls.
“It’s great that we’ve been
able to see them,” she said.
“They call them ‘the three
beauties’ and I know they will
be well looked after.”
BrueHighlandersalsohave
webcams in their shed where
cattle lovers can keep an eye
on the activities on the Lewis
croft.
The Highlanders in Tschlin will enjoy balmy summers with pastures at 2,200
above sea level – nearly twice
the height of Ben Nevis - and
will have the option to spend
much of the winter indoors as
the temperature falls to lower
than -15C with thick snow in
the mountains.
When the animals left
Lewis,Lesleywashopefulthat
the twoolderoneswerein calf
andindeedthepedigreeofthe
cows was something that the
Janetts in Switzerland were
interested in.
Describing more about
his passion for Highland cat-
tle, Jon said: “We visited Lesley and Kenny in 2010 and we
admired their animals. As we
saw on their website that they
had three heifers for sale, we
did not take long to consider.
WewantHighlandCattlefrom
the country where they come
from.”
Headded:“Fromthetransport to Switzerland, we had to
fill in many forms and get permits. Because Switzerland is
not an EU country and without the help of the Swiss Highland Cattle Society the import
wouldnothavebeenpossible.”
The Janetts have 45 cattle
ontheirfarmwitharoundhalf
being Scottish Highland cattle. The rest are Braunvieh,
which is a Swiss race; Limousin, a French breed; and also
Aberdeen Angus.
“Since 2000 we have had
Scottish Highland cattle and
we fellin love withthese beautiful animals. They are the
most beautiful cattle under
the sun.”
He said this had been the
first time they had imported
cattle from Scotland and that
they were hoping to return to
Lewis again.
InSwitzerlandthenumber
of people keeping Highland
Cattle is growing according to
the Swiss section of the Highland Cattle Society.
MaraSimonetta,Secretary
of the Society, said they had
been established in 1995 and
now had 221 members.
ShesaidtheScottishbreed
fitted in well in Switzerland
and that 75 per cent of members were ‘hobby breeders’
meaning it is not their full
time job.
She said: “This breed is interesting because it is perfect
for our mountain regions or
the Alps, where many pas-
John and Erika Janette visited the Brue Highlaners in 2010 and fell in love with Ella.
The ‘three beauties’ take a look at their new home in the Swiss Alps.
tures are abandoned.”
She said previously milk
breeds were kept in these areas but as they needed more
specific care, it was not sustainable for people to keep
them.
“Highlandersareeasilyfed
with grass, hay and silage so
there is a great advantage on
this breed,” she added.
“Some of my own Highlanders spend the summer on
anAlpthatbelongstotheGovernment of the region, earlier
it was run by Brown Swiss or
Holstein breeders, but less
farmers would bring their
animals to this place so the
authorities decided to fill the
abandoned places only with
Highlanders from now on.”
BrueHighlandersFoldwas
started back in 2001 when the
Mathesons purchased two
pedigree yearling heifers at
the breed’s February sale at
Oban.
Twelve years on, with the
help of stockman Calum Angus Mitchell, there are currently 18 cattle in the fold
with all animals adhering to
very high health standards
as part of the Scottish Agricultural College’s Premium
Cattle Health Scheme. This
means the cattle are tested
every year for the four main
diseases and are sold with a
clean bill of health.
Lesley said that Hi-health
Accreditation is extremely
important to them as breeders, so that buyers can be confident they are not importing
diseases into their own herds.
Brue Highlanders have
been sold all over the UK but
this international export is
a first for them and one they
may look to repeat.
Lesley said the cattle are a
pleasuretolookafteralthough
it can be difficult to say goodbyewhentheanimalsaresold.
“I enjoy it, I wouldn’t do
it if I didn’t. You do get very
attached to them but as the
years go by it does get easier.”
They are also suppliers of
beef and on average sell a carcass each month.
Nevis Bakery in Fort William recently won a Great
Taste Award for the second
year running for their Steak
pies made using prime beef
from Brue Highlanders.
Visit www.bruehighlanders.co.uk and www.janett.
ch for more details about the
Lewis based and Swiss cattle
folds andtowatchtheirmovements live on webcam.
The three pedigree Highland heifers travelled in style in this air conditioned cattle lorry.