Thanks Ben for the video clip
The question of keeping rare breeds in their own regions and what happens when you don't is interesting and relevant. The breed we keep the most of is the Hebridean, whose name implies that they originated in the Hebrides. In fact it is not as straigtforward as that - along with Shetlands, Manx Loaghtan, North Ronaldsays and the other British primitives, this
type was once common throughout Britain (before being divided up into actual breeds), but was pushed to the rocky outer regions of the British Isles with the introduction of more commercial breeds. But of course although it was the type which existed everywhere, the individual sheep found in any area came from ancestors which had also been local to that area or nearby so were adapted to that area, so in that way you could say after all that Hebrideans did come from the Hebrides...
However, by the late 1800s there were none left on the islands and most Hebs were later found in England, especially in Yorkshire where they had been kept as Park breeds then became popular with smallholders in the mid 20th century. So for over 100 years many Hebs have lived in England, whilst a few small flocks survived in Scotland. So where do they really come from? Without the breed becoming popular in England, they would certainly never have survived as a crofting sheep, so would have died out. Hebs currently kept in the Hebrides are there largely due to the efforts of the late Donald Ferguson, and came from stock re-introduced from England, but are not popular as money-making sheep.
Many Hebs now living in the soft parts of England have increased in size by a few kgs in the past 30-40 years. These are the specimens which appear in the big shows and as a consequence 'become' the ideal for the breed, whereas what is needed in the Highlands and islands is a different type - certainly smaller, kept outdoors, lambing outdoors, with minimal extra feeding except hay in winter, and a large tract of grazing land. We have just experience a typical problem when bringing one of these pampered ewes up to the south of Scotland, where she suddenly found herself in a new environment with insufficient time to adapt before we put her into lamb. She came from a breeder just north of London where the flock were all sponged to lamb simultaneously, indoors, fed with large quantities of grain feeds and bred for the show ring. Up here her twin lambs were tiny and she lost one. We knew this can happen when you bring soft sheep north, but she appeared to be coping admirably - obviously we were not observant enough. There is much exchange of stock between the north and the south, so I wonder how such animals do when they find themselves in North Uist. The great thing with Hebs is that they seem to be very adaptable and can change to accommodate varying conditions - perhaps it is this adaptability which is so important to preserve? By keeping Hebs in a wide variety of places perhaps we are taking the right route to preserving as many of their varied traits as possible.
Topic: Native breeds and appropriate environment (Read 9553 times)
