| Country of origin | Italy |
|---|---|
| Distribution | province of Massa Carrara, in Tuscany |
| Use | meat |
| Traits | |
| Weight |
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| Height |
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| Wool color | white |
| Face color | white, sometimes mottled with brown or grey |
| Notes | |
| meat | |
| |
The Zerasca is a breed of upland sheep from the province of Massa Carrara, in Tuscany in central Italy.[1][2] It is raised almost exclusively in the comune of Zeri and the neighbouring comune of Pontremoli.[2] In the years after the Second World War, systematic use was made of Massese rams with the aim of improving milk yield; the result was a reduction in resistance to disease and ability to forage on poor terrain, an increase in mammary defects, an increase in colour variability, but little improvement in milk yield.[2] The Zerasca is one of the forty-two autochthonous local sheep breeds of limited distribution for which a herdbook is kept by the Associazione Nazionale della Pastorizia, the Italian national association of sheep-breeders.[3]
In 2012 the total number for the breed was 951.[4]
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