 A Boreray ram. | |
| Conservation status | |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | Scotland |
| Distribution | Scotland |
| Use | Conservation grazing, meat, wool |
| Traits | |
| Weight |
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| Height |
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| Horn status | Horned |
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The Boreray, also known as the Boreray Blackface or Hebridean Blackface,[3] is a breed of sheep originating on the St Kilda archipelago off the west coast of Scotland and surviving as a feral animal on one of the islands, Boreray. The breed was once reared for meat and wool, but is now used mainly for conservation grazing. The Boreray is one of the Northern European short-tailed sheep group of breeds.
It is one of the rarest breeds of sheep in the United Kingdom. The breed is classed as "Category 3: Vulnerable" by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, because 500–900 breeding ewes are known to exist. It had previously been the only breed classed in "Category 2: Critical" but by 2017 the population had grown.
- ^ Barbara Rischkowsky, D. Pilling (eds.) (2007). pg 120. List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Accessed August 2017.
- ^ Watchlist 2017–18. Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire: Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Accessed May 2017.
- ^ "Boreray". Breeds of Livestock. Oklahoma State University Dept. of Animal Science. Archived from the original on 22 November 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2008.