[humphreymctush]

Am I right that "down south" Shetland sheep can have pedigrees?
I'm not trying to be controversial here but I would be interested to know whether  pedigree Shetland sheep bought "south" would be considered more genuine than sheep taken off the hill in Shetland?

[Anke]

Well the Shetland sheep Society's website is quite clear on it all. Of course Shetland sheep - bred and raised on Mainland Britain - have a pedigree, established on the mainland. Some of mine still have "Island tup" or "Island ewe" in there, indicating that these have been brought down from Shetland originally.

There is mixing going on, and people do go up and bring tups down from the Islands, especially at the large tup sales in late Oct/early Nov I think. I can't quite work out how to make that financially viable...

[kanisha]

an interesting question, the papertrail would  be used to establish origin in either case but are there other criteria particularly relevant to selection that might make one more attractive than the other?

[bigchicken]

I think that the Shetland sheep on Shetland have a flock pedigree. The people who go up to Shetland and buy tups will have a greater amount to pick from and most are well known and respected people in the breed.  How can you put a price on experience. If I really want something and it is the best I can buy I will pay good money. We should all be striving to make our sheep the best they can be and that means using the best tups available. A fare few Shetland on better ground on the main land are becoming soft and the Island Shetland is a bit harder.