Asno de las Encartaciones

The Asno de las Encartaciones, Basque: Enkarterriko asto, is a Spanish breed of small domestic donkey from the western part of the autonomous community of the Basque Country, in north-eastern Spain. It is named for the comarca of Las Encartaciones (Enkarterri), in the province of Biscay (Bizkaia). It is the only small donkey breed of Spain, and resembles the Gascon donkey, now a sub-type of the Pyrenean. The Asno de las Encartaciones is critically endangered, and is protected by conservation measures.

History

The Asno de las Encartaciones is indigenous to the western part of the province of Biscay, and is concentrated in the municipalities of Artzentales, Balmaseda, Galdames, Gordexola, Güeñes, Karrantza, Lanestosa, Sopuerta, Turtzioz and Zalla. The breed almost disappeared during the course of the twentieth century. The fall in numbers began in the first decades of the century, and was most rapid in the 1960s and 1970s; the population numbered about 1000 in the early 70s, and had fallen to barely 100 by the late 90s. As with other donkey breeds, the principal causes were the mechanisation of agriculture and the depopulation of rural areas.

The Asno de las Encartaciones was presented at agricultural fairs in Gordexola in 1994 and at Markina in 1995. As a result, a breeders' association, the Asociación para la protección y Defensa del Burro de Las Encartaciones, was formed in 1996, and a conservation plan, including a 12-hectare reserve at Gordexola, was published in 1999.