Swanning around the intertubes, as one does while waiting for bread to rise, I happened upon a clip from a National Geographic film called Extreme Genes. The clip gives an insight into one of the “double muscled” breeds of cattle, the Belgian Blue. You’ll note that everyone involved is at pains to point out how natural all this selection is, which is very reassuring.
Calves of Blanc-Bleu-Belges have to be delivered by caesarian – see for pictures.
See also prison sentence for “ces éleveurs pratiquaient eux-mêmes des césariennes sur leurs vaches,” farmers who were caught doing the caesarians themselves.
That is not a true statment. Granted some breeders of the Blanc-Bleu-Belges have to because their cows can’t handle the calf, but I have breed them for 18 years and only had to pull two calves and never had one need a caesarian.
Here in Belgium our authority on the Belgisch witblauw / Blanc-Bleu Belge is the B’B’ Herdbook Society. Their monograph ‘Emergence and Selection of The Belgian Blue Breed’, is available in English from their website [1] .
It is a scholarly work, well worth reading for the origin of the double-muscle genotype. It was written by Professor Roger Hanset of the University of Liege, who was a leader in the field of research into the genetics of double muscle and who also played a major role in the development of the Belgian Blue breed of cattle [2].
As regards caesarians, Professor Hanset wrote:-
“Since the 50’s, the price scale for beef cattle became wider and included very attractive prices for animals of extreme conformation (doublemuscled – DM). Some butchers specialized in the cutting-up of the carcasses of such animals, the latter being still very few at the start and born sporadically, mainly from White and Blue parents of normal conformation (recessivity).
“The caesarean section was introduced at that time and allowed the proper delivery of living DM calves.
“The meat trade cheered as these animals fulfilled the butcher’s dream of a carcass with an exceptional yield of lean and tender cuts.
And its not just in the past. Last time I visited a belgian farm, all the B’B’ calves had been born by caesarian – and the cows had the scars to prove it
Richard H
[1] http://www.hbbbb.be/pdf/emergenceandselection.pdf
[2] http://www.beltex.co.uk/breed/index.html