[12]: 378 Some were brought to the United Kingdom in the 1840s by Edward Smith-Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby, who was at that time president of the Zoological Society of London.

[12]: 378  There it was bred for considerably greater weight; the British breed standard dates from 1865.

[12]: 378  The Toulouse was included in the first Standard of Perfection of the American Poultry Association in 1874.

It is reared principally in the upper Midwest, where its good tolerance of cold weather is an advantage.

[12]: 379 The production strain of the Toulouse goose was bred to be fast-growing, gaining weight rapidly when there is an abundance of food and no room for exercise.