British Cattle

Val Porter has written several books on breeds of livestock worldwide (cattle, pigs and goats) and on caring for cows in particular. Cows are something of a passion: she worked with a Jersey dairy herd and kept her own Jersey housecows in the 1970s, and through them she became interested in rare breeds of cattle at a time when the 'black-and-whites' were so dominant that there was little space left for anything more colourful. She has been a member of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust for many years and was co-author of the Trust's history, Saving the Breed.