5 Fantastic Facts About the Van Cat
3. The Van Cat is a "Land Race," not a breed of cat
Despite Western attempts to standardize the Van Cat as a breed (and with characteristics which people from the Near East do not recognize as "true"), it's actually a landrace, meaning that it's a naturally occurring, free-breeding animal "largely developed through adaptation to the natural environment and traditional production system in which it has been raised," according to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.
Other animals that are part of the landrace classification include Shetland sheep and the St. John's water dog, a now extinct native of Newfoundland which the standardized breed of the Labrador Retriever descends from.
Despite Western attempts to standardize the Van Cat as a breed (and with characteristics which people from the Near East do not recognize as "true"), it's actually a landrace, meaning that it's a naturally occurring, free-breeding animal "largely developed through adaptation to the natural environment and traditional production system in which it has been raised," according to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.
Other animals that are part of the landrace classification include Shetland sheep and the St. John's water dog, a now extinct native of Newfoundland which the standardized breed of the Labrador Retriever descends from.
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