OF HERITAGE SHEEP BREEDS
Helping to achieve environmental and economic sustainability
Heritage Sheep Breeds continue to be farmed commercially at present and contribute greatly to the environments and economies of their local regions. These landscapes, often National Parks, are maintained within an agropastoral system used for hundreds of years and needing locally adapted sheep to maintain sustainability. |
Providing authoritative information for the general public and policy makers
The science underpinning Heritage Sheep Breeds and their use for sustaining rural environments must be available. We need to ensure the public knows about the importance of heritage sheep farming and that decisions of policy makers are underpinned by sound science. |
Maintaining a genebank of germplasm as a safeguard to loss of biodiversity
Heritage Sheep Breeds are particularly at risk now from ever decreasing numbers and from the continuing threat of new disease outbreaks. We need to conserve their genetic resources from these risks. The Heritage Gene Bank established by The Sheep Trust in 2001 during the viral epidemic in the UK continues to be maintained for future generations. |