Country of Origin
Pinzgau district, Salzburg, Austria
Australian Status
International Status
In 2023 Austria advised that there were approximately 5,000 dairy and 2,500 beef purebred animals registered, Germany had approximately 1,000 beef and 500 dairy purebred animals registered. There are Pinzgauers in Denmark, Switzerland, Slovakia, Italy, Scotland, Brazil, NZ, Australia, South Africa, U.S.A., and Canada. Statistics for those countries are not currently available, but the numbers would be lower than in Austria and Germany in those countries.
Image above right: Pinzgauer cow named Hadwellyn Emerald, bred by Lynne Wells, Victoria. Emerald developed into a cow with a fantastic udder, beautiful docile temperament and the perfect conformation and pattern. Photo supplied by Australian Pinzgauer Breeder's Association.
Uses
Meat and milk (meat in Australia)
Breed Traits
Once triple use - milk, beef and draught. Dual purpose now for meat and milk, but bred for beef only in Australia.
Their work use has given them a good big strong frame, with good shoulders and hindquarters. Good muscles. Their powerful legs and strong hooves mean they range well to forage, and steep country poses no problems at all.
Pinzgauer are predominantly red and white, with black and white also occurring. White is the frame pattern, white on the backline running around the back to white flanks, breech and tail, and underneath to belly, flanks and top of front legs. Red can be a tan to deep brown. Black and white ones have always occurred, however rarely, in Austria.
Pigmented skin around head and eyes means eye cancers are not an issue. The Pinzgauer thrives in South Africa and Australia. Their smooth coats and flexible skin means they are disease and parasite resistant. They also thrive in mountain districts and are adaptable to a wide range of climates due to their colouring.
They are called "The Lucky Cow" - each farmer liked one in the herd. Some semen from a black and white bull was imported into Australia in 2016, and some black and white animals are now on the ground in Australia.
The breed was traditionally horned, apart from one rare line which goes back to 1834 – which was not much bred from as horned animals were needed, to be yoked, for work. The line was continued on, and since the 1980s has been used to increase the number of polled animals. In Australia, there is a strong push to test for the poll line, and phase out the horns. Half the national herd is now polled and some DNA tested homozygous polls are starting to be used.
Not many are milked now, even in the home country, but their robustness allows their use on the high Alps in summer for cheese making, and for beef their plentiful milk means they raise their calf well and it grows fast. in Austria they are often put over Red Holsteins to raise milk fat and protein. In some Baltic countries the prime use remains milk.
Docile temperament, although mothers are protective. Easily managed by one person and taught to show. Very fertile breed. Heifers mature early and calve from 27 months. Excellent feed conversion rate. In the early 1990s some lines had calving issues, but those lines have been bred out, and the semen recently imported from Austria even when used on heifers has produced low birth weight but well growing calves.
Studies at the Technical University of Munich proved the meat is excellent eating, having good marbling, tenderness, flavour, and a fine texture - superior to other breeds tested. They scored the highest for tenderness. On the GeneStar system with many tested, they also scored highest for tenderness, far outranking Angus and Hereford. They have a high fat score. The meat ranked highly in redness too, which makes it popular with butchers - redness means good meat quality and presents well. The breed proved almost equal to the Bavarian Simmental in net weight gain and carcass weight, with tests of over 90 animals. Some steer trials took place in Australia in a feedlot in Queensland in the early 2020s. The trials were very promising, with finalised data becoming available in late 2023. Contact the Australian Pinzgauer Breeder's Association (see below) for further information.
History
The Pinzgauer was recorded in the Salzburg district in 1846, and mentions of breed name were also made before that. The Pinzgauer is thought to be descended from cattle of the Celts in the Hohe Tauern mountain range, Salzburg. The colours were red and white in broken patterns for camouflage, an ancient pattern.
They were exported during the 1820s to several other European countries and Baltic countries. In 1856 they were shown in Paris. In 1873 at the world exposition in Vienna, the yoked work animals were very popular. They are bred throughout Bavaria.
The Pinzgauer was the most popular breed of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. However, World War II affected the breeders and breed badly. In 1950 a breeders association was formed, with excellent principles of preserving and fostering the three uses and a robust animal.
Each year in Austria a traditional 'homecoming' is held when cattle, sheep and ponies (Haflingers) are brought down from the mountains. There is a week's festivities during the cattle drive. The cattle, mostly Pinzgauers, are lavishly decorated for their walk through the towns, with their horns coming in useful to hold massive headdresses of pom-poms, flowers, foliage, garlands.
History in Australia
Arrived in Australian in the1970s. A breed society with an associated herdbook was formed in the early 1990s, with membership of the International Association of Pinzgauer Breeder’s headquartered in Austria.
Breed Organisation
Australian Pinzgauer Breeder's Association http://www.pinzgauer.org.au/
LBCentre is the Pinzgauer registry. The Australian Pinzgauer Breeder’s Association produces a regular herdbook report with up to date statistics.
Australian Population
2020: 400
2022: 11 breeders, 84 cows
2023: 13 breeders, 15 bulls and 140 purebred cows. Over 50% of the herd were polled.
2025: 20 males; 150 females; 39 registrations in 2024
Photo Credit
Bottom: Austrian Pinzgauer bull MAX in 2019, photo by Laurelle Price
Page by Janet Lane and Australian Pinzgauer Association
