THURSO, Que. – Winchy, the Canadienne cow who may one day epitomize her almost-extinct breed, is acting camera shy.
As she leads owner Jean-Claude Brunet and a visitor on a walk through the fields of his west Quebec farm 50 kilometres east of Ottawa, Winchy refuses to stand still for an affectionate pat and a photo session.
“She is nervous,” says Brunet. “But she is great, eh? This is how the Canadienne should look. See how straight her back is? And she’s not young.”
Winchy is 10 years old and a fine specimen of Canada’s oldest cattle breed, the only dairy breed ever developed in North America.
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Her ancestors came to Canada with French explorer Jacques Cartier more than 400 years ago as food for the first European settlers in New France.
They stayed and developed their own characteristics, protected from cross-breeding by the isolation of the colony.
For several centuries, the Canadiennes dominated Eastern Canada’s dairy industry. They were treasured for their stamina, their ability to survive tough winters and consistent milk production no matter what the food quality.
But the 19th century brought new settlers with bigger, better-producing dairy cows and the Canadienne breed began a decline.
It almost disappeared.
Protected species
Sheila Daunt, senior farm interpreter at the Agriculture Museum on Ottawa’s Central Experimental Farm, says there are fewer than 250 fullblood Canadienne cattle in the world.
They are on the endangered species list.
And Brunet, a 48-year-old former federal civil servant, has made it his life’s work to save the breed.
During the past two years, he has purchased a herd of 70 from as far away as British Columbia, hoping to revive the numbers and their reputation as reliable high quality milk producers.
And Winchy is his poster girl, a cow with sleek lines that won awards at a Quebec cattle exposition and bears herself regally, even in her advancing years.
“She is what I would like the world to see with the Canadienne,” he says proudly as Winchy dodges yet another attempt to line her up for a picture.
She should get accustomed to the attention. The Canada Post stamp advisory committee is considering a stamp in 1998 to honor the Canadienne as a living piece of Canadian history.
“It is one of the suggestions made to the committee that is being considered,” says Elia Anoia from the Canada Post corporate resource centre. “There will be no decision until next month and there are many possibilities. But 20 to 25 will be chosen for a stamp.”
And if the Canadienne breed is chosen for the honor, Winchy will be the model.
“I don’t know if it will happen but if it does, it would be great,” says Brunet. “It would give the Canadienne status and make Canadians realize what they have with this breed and what they almost have lost. Winchy will represent that.”
