Danish Red cattle, also known as Red Danish or Red Dane, are a major dairy cattle

Dairy cattle

Dairy cattle are cattle cows bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk, from which dairy products are made. Dairy cows generally are of the species Bos taurus....

 breed in northern Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

.
The breed was developed in Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 based on local breeds bred with Angeln cattle

Angeln cattle

Angeln cattle are a breed of cattle originally from Angeln in Schleswig-Holstein where they are first mentioned around 1600. Breed management has been practiced since 1830. Angeln cattle are red in color and were one of the founders of the larger Danish Red Cattle breed. They are noted for the high...

 from Angeln

Angeln

Modern Angeln, also known as Anglia , is a small peninsula in Southern Schleswig in the northern Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, protruding into the Bay of Kiel...

, Schleswig

Schleswig

Schleswig or South Jutland is a region covering the area about 60 km north and 70 km south of the border between Germany and Denmark; the territory has been divided between the two countries since 1920, with Northern Schleswig in Denmark and Southern Schleswig in Germany...

. Danish Red cattle (and, earlier, Angeln cattle) have been imported to many other countries and have been used to improve and form many local breeds, such as Lithuanian Red

Lithuanian Red

The Lithuanian Red is a breed of cattle that was formed by crossing Danish Red cattle with the local Lithuanian cattle. In 1951 the cross was recognized as a new breed. It currently accounts for about 33% of the entire cattle population in Lithuania. The young stock of the Lithuanian Red breed are...

, Estonian Red, Latvian Red, Polish Red, Belarus Red

Belarus Red

Belarus Red, also known as Byelorussian Red, Krasnaya belorusskaya, and Krasnobelorusskaya, is a Russian dairy cattle breed....

, Tambov Red (Russian Red), Bulgarian Red, etc.

The solid red color of these breeds has helped in making them popular for crossbreeding in tropical countries
with red Zebu

Zebu

Zebu , sometimes known as humped cattle, indicus cattle, Cebu or Brahmin cattle are a type of domestic cattle originating in South Asia, particularly the Indian subcontinent. They are characterised by a fatty hump on their shoulders, drooping ears and a large dewlap...

 dairy breeds like Sahiwal

Sahiwal cattle

Sahiwal is a breed of Zebu cattle which primarily is used in dairy production. Sahiwal originated from the Sahiwal district of Pakistan, a dry region of Punjab which lies along the Indian-Pakistani border....

, Red Sindhi

Red Sindhi cattle

Red Sindhi cattle are the most popular of all Zebu dairy breeds. The breed originated in the Sindh province of Pakistan, they are widely kept for milk production across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and other countries...

 and Butana. They are good milk cows, yielding milk with higher butter fat and protein content than does the Holstein-Friesian.