The Shetland is a small, wool-producing breed of Northern European short-tailed sheep. They are classified as a landrace or “unimproved” breed, that originated in the Shetland Isles. The Shetland breed has survived for centuries and are easier to care for than many modern breeds as they retain many of their primitive survival instincts.
Up to the Iron Age, the sheep of the British Isles and other parts of northern and western Europe were small, short-tailed, variable in colour horned and only the males were horned. These sheep were gradually displaced by long-tailed types, leaving them sheep restricted to less accessible areas. Inbetween 1795-1965 the number of Shetland sheep declined until eventually they were confined to Shetland. By 1965 only 4% of the sheep recorded for ‘Hill Sheep Subsidy’ were Shetland sheep.
By the time the Rare Breeds Survival Trust was set up in the 1970s, the Shetland had become rare, and it was listed by them as ‘Endangered’
