Dexter cattle

Dexter
Conservation status
  • FAO (2007): not at risk:144
  • DAD-IS (2022, Ireland): at risk/critical
  • DAD-IS (2022, transboundary): not at risk
  • RBST (2023): native breeds
Country of originIreland
Distributionworld-wide
Usedual-purpose, meat and milk
Traits
Weight
  • Female:
    average 325 kg (700 lb)
Height
  • Male:
    102–112 cm (40–44 in):169
  • Female:
    97–107 cm (38–42 in):169
Coatusually black, also red or dun
Horn statususually horned, sometimes polled

The Dexter is an Irish breed of small cattle. It originated in the eighteenth century in County Kerry, in south-western Ireland, and appears to be named after a man named Dexter, who was factor of the estates of Lord Hawarden on Valentia Island. Until the second half of the nineteenth century it was considered a type within the Kerry breed.:168