I'm surprised that this breed hasn't yet - as far as I can see - warranted a mention on the primitive sheep forum. It originates from the island of the same name to the north-west of the Brittany penisular. It is an island almost devoid of trees and the animals' only shelter from the Atlantic winds are the rocky outcrops. These are not high and, in consequence, the same can be said of the sheep. In Western France they are widely kept as organic lawnmowers and are very cheaply bought (often even given away). The meat is good but because of the size of the animals, the carcass yield is not significant. Thus the cost of taking them to the abattoir means that those that are killed for meat, for home consumption, generally are home killed and butchered. The tups really do have attitude. Try telling them that they are small and they'll refute the suggestion as ovine 'project fear'! We kept some a while back. After we changed to Vendéens, we kept the tup, Sooty, because of our admiration for his attitude. Even Godzilla the Goat, the day he broke out of his field and into that of the sheep, ran up the white flag after a 'head to head' with Sooty. Does anyone keep Ouessant sheep in the UK?