The Saanen is a Swiss breed of domestic goat. It takes its name from the Saanental in the Bernese Oberland, in the southern part of the Canton of Bern, in western Switzerland. It is a productive dairy goat and is distributed in more than eighty countries worldwide.
History The Saanen originates in the historic region of Saanen () and in the neighbouring Simmental, both in the Bernese Oberland, in the southern part of the Canton of Bern, in western Switzerland.
It is reported from more than eighty countries. The total world population is reported to be over head. Of these, some are in Switzerland.
Since the nineteenth century it has been exported to many countries around the world and has given rise to many local sub-breeds, often through cross-breeding with local goats. Among these local variants are the Banat White in Romania, the British Saanen, the French Saanen, the Israeli Saanen, the Russian White, the in Germany, and the Yugoslav Saanen.
A black variant, the Sable Saanen, was recognised as a breed in New Zealand in the 1980s. Since 2005 Saanen stock in the United States of any colour but white or pale cream can be registered as Sable, a distinct breed; it is not reported to the DAD-IS database of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Characteristics The Saanen is the largest breed of Swiss goat: billies stand about at the withers and weigh a minimum of . It has white skin and a short white coat; some small pigmented areas may be tolerated. It may be horned or hornless and tassels may be present. The profile may be straight or somewhat concave; the ears are erect and point upwards and forwards.
Use and management The Saanen is the most productive milk goat of Switzerland, which has the most productive milking goats in the world. Average milk yield is in a lactation of 264 days. The milk should have a minimum of 3.2% milk-fat and 2.7% milk protein.
The Saanen is not well suited to extensive management, and is usually raised intensively. Being pale-skinned, it does not tolerate strong sun.
Notes
References Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to: The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. . Archived 23 June 2020.
Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. .
Transboundary breed: Saanen. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed August 2025.
Breed Data Sheet: Saanenziege / Switzerland (Goat). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed August 2025.
Breed Data Sheet: Sable / New Zealand (Goat). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed August 2026.
Breed Data Sheet: United States of America, Goat. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed August 2026.
Tamsin Cooper (31 May 2025). Breed Profile: Sable Goat. Goat Journal. Archived 21 May 2026.
Lena Olausson, Catherine Sangster (2006). Oxford BBC Guide to Pronunciation: The Essential Handbook of the Spoken Word. Oxford: Oxford University Press. .
Rassenstandards (Ausgabe 01.01.2014) (in German). Fédération suisse d'élevage caprin/Schweizerischer Ziegenzuchtverband/Federazione svizzera d'allevamento caprino. Archived 3 February 2015.
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