Sheep breed society links

A list of links to sheep breed and flock book societies websites that I have come across so far. This will be regularly reviewed and any inactive links will be hidden until the relevant website works again.

Please use the comment facility at the bottom of the page to let me know of any errors in this list or any other sheep breed association/society websites I should add.

Last updated: 30 Nov 2021

Checked and corrected the Manx Loaghtan breed society link

  • Badger Face Welsh Mountain Sheep Society
    The Badger Face Welsh Mountain is a distinct variety of the Welsh Mountain breed and is a hardy upland breed known for producing a high percentage of twins and triplets under good conditions.
  • Balwen Welsh Mountain Sheep Society
    Balwen Welsh Mountain Sheep originate from one small area of Wales – the Tywi vally. Because of this, during the disastrous winter of 1947, the breed was nearly wiped out.
  • Beltex Sheep Society
    Beltex sheep arrived in the UK from Belgium in 1989 and with their double-muscle traits they brought a totally new dimension to British lamb production. The breed was originally developed as the Belgian Texel, by selecting and breeding for the traits foun
  • Bleu du Maine Sheep Society
    The society aims to provide an efficient and caring framework that provides for the needs of all members wishing to breed, sell and promote Bleu du Maine sheep.
  • Blue Texel Sheep Society
    The Blue Texel Sheep Society supports and promotes the breed, maintains pedigree registrations and arranges official Society sales.
  • Bluefaced Leicester Sheep Breeders' Association
    The Bluefaced Leicester evolved from a breeding scheme, to develop the Longwool sheep in the 1700’s, by Robert Bakewell. Originally known as the Dishly Leicester. The breed was developed over the next 200 years and became commonly known as the Hexham Leic
  • British Berrichon Sheep Society
    The Berrichon is a large white faced, medium boned, well fleshed sheep originating from the Cher region of France.
  • British Charollais Sheep Society
    The Society was set up in 1977 to “promote, develop and improve the breeding of Charollais sheep”. The breed is centred around the town of Charolles in the Saone Loire region of France where is grazes alongside the famous Charolais Cattle.
  • British Gotland Sheep Society
    The BGSS was formed in 1992 with the expressed aim of improving Gotland sheep through breeding and to encourage their use, appreciation, protection and well being in the UK.
  • British Milk Sheep Society
    The breed was developed by Lawrence Alderson to fill the growing need for a genuine high performance crossing sire. By 1980 the breed was established having been based on outstanding foundation animals with the ewe’s yield of milk sufficient to match her
  • British Vendéen Sheep Society
    The Vendéen breed has been known in the Vendee region of France for many hundreds of years and is said to owe some of its blood to sheep saved from the wrecks of Spanish galleons at the time of the Armada. More definite links were established with the imp
  • Castlemilk Moorit Sheep Society
    The Castlemilk Moorit Sheep Society exists to support all aspects of the breed and to encourage the ownership, breeding and welfare of Castlemilk Moorit Sheep
  • Cheviot Sheep Society
    The Cheviot Sheep Society was formed in 1890 and is one of the oldest sheep societies in existence.
  • Clun Forest Sheep Breeders Society
    he Clun Forest Sheep Breeders Society was formed in 1925, to “secure the purity of the breeds’ lineage and fixity of type” and also to promote the virtues of the breed throughout the sheep industry.
  • Cotswold Sheep Society
    The Cotswold sheep, often referred to as the ‘Cotswold Lion’ was introduced to the UK by the Romans.
  • Dorset Down Sheep Breeders' Association
    Dorset Down Sheep are justly known as “king of the prime lamb breed”. One of the oldest breeds of native sheep, Dorset Down Sheep have a prestigious history as well as a successful future in the British farming landscape.
  • Dorset Horn and Poll Dorset Sheep Breeder's Association
    The Dorset Horn sheep is one of the earliest recorded breeds of British Sheep with the first Flock Book being established in 1892, and its adaptability was soon recognised world wide.
  • Exmoor Horn Sheep Breeders’ Society
    The Exmoor Horn Sheep originates from the high hills of Exmoor National Park, one of our country’s most beautiful and remote natural landscapes.
  • Hampshire Down Sheep Breeders’ Association
    Hampshire Down flocks were established more than 150 years ago. The breed originated by crossing the Wiltshire Horn and the Berkshire Knot with the Southdown. These flocks became very important in maintaining fertility on the thin soils of Wiltshire, Hamp
  • Hebridean Sheep Society
    The Hebridean Sheep Society exists to promote Hebridean sheep as an economical breed with qualities of importance to today’s livestock industry (particularly extensive sheep farming) and many types of ecological management task to promote biodiversity
  • Herdwick Sheep Breeders’ Association
    Herdwick sheep are the native breed of the central and western Lake District and live on the highest of England’s mountains. They are extremely hardy and are managed in the traditional way on the Lake District fells that have been their home for generatio
  • Hill Radnor Flock Book Society
    The Hill Radnor Flock Book Society has been working to promote and support the Hill Radnor sheep since 1949.
  • Jacob Sheep Society
    Jacob sheep are credited within the industry as being the most improved breed of the last 40 years, from a decorative park sheep to becoming a mainstream British breed; able to compete with the best.
  • Kerry Hill Flock Book Society
    The Kerry Hill Flock Book Society was founded in 1899, and although the breed has recently been on the list of Rare Breeds, its numbers have now increased, mainly due to the stunning looks of the sheep.
  • Leicester Longwool Sheepbreeders' Association
    Since the formation of the Leicester Sheep Breeders’ Association in 1893, later to be called the Leicester Longwool Sheepbreeders’ Association, members have strived to keep the breed pure and to improve it in keeping with modern demands.
  • Manx Loaghtan Sheep Breeders’ Group
    The Manx Loaghtan Sheep Breeders’ Group works to promote this primitive rare breed of sheep, and the wool and meat products from them.
  • Norfolk Horn Breeders Group
    The Group was established by a number of enthusiastic breeders in 1994 with the aim of promoting and enhancing the breed.
  • North Of England Mule Sheep Association
    The success of the North of England Mule has assured its place throughout the country, but they are produced on the upland and hill farms of northern England.
  • North Ronaldsay Sheep Fellowship
    The North Ronaldsay is a small rare breed of sheep of the northern short-tailed group of breeds; bones of similar animals have been found at Skara Brae dating from the Bronze Age and the recent genotype survey organised by the RBST demonstrated that the b
  • Oxford Down Sheep Breeders' Association
    The Oxford Down breed originated in the 1830s after crossing Cotswold rams with Hampshire Down and Southdown ewes. Over the next 50 years the breed stabilised and, as many of the early flocks were centered around the town of Witney in Oxfordshire, the nam
  • Portland Sheep Breeders Group
    The object of the Group is to engage in any such activities as are necessary to enable the breeders of Portland Sheep and others to work together for the benefit, conservation, and promotion of the breed.
  • Romney Sheep Breeders' Society
    One of the first sheep breed societies in the UK, incorporated in 1895 it was originally established to record and register pedigree Romney breeding stock.
  • Ryeland Flock Book Society
    The RFBS is a sheep society established in 1903 for the promotion and registration of pedigree Ryeland and Coloured Ryeland sheep.
  • Shetland Sheep Society
    The Shetland Sheep Society is made up of nearly 500 members distributed widely around the UK as well as some overseas.
  • Shropshire Sheep Breeders' Association
    The exact origins of today’s Shropshire Down are unclear but generally agreed to be as a result of the improvement of the indigenous sheep of the Staffordshire and Shropshire border areas.
  • Soay Sheep Society
    The Soay Sheep Society was founded by a group of Soay owners realising the need for a representative body to speak and act on behalf of Soay and Boreray sheep.
  • Society of Border Leicester Sheep Breeders
    The Border Leicester is the largest indigenous breed in the British Isles and the purebred is popular with adults and children alike as a show animal due to its attractive characteristics and elegant presence.
  • Southdown Sheep Society
    The Southdown is the oldest of the terminal sire breeds in the UK and as the name suggests originates from the native sheep which have roamed the South Downs in the South of England for many hundreds of years.
  • Suffolk Sheep Society
    The Suffolk evolved from the mating of Norfolk Horn ewes with Southdown rams in the Bury St Edmunds area, these sheep were known as Southdown Norfolks, or locally, as “Black faces.”
  • Swaledale Sheep Breeders' Association
    The Swaledale’s origin almost certainly emerged from the genetic group of horned sheep from which also came the Blackface, the Rough Fell, and other localised types. Slowly over time a ‘Swaledale’ breed type emerged from within these horned sheep.
  • Teeswater Sheep Breeders' Association
    The Teeswater Sheep Breeders’ Association was formed in 1949 with the aim to encourage and improve the breeding of Teeswater sheep, to maintain their purity and particularly to establish the supremacy of Teeswater rams for crossing with hill sheep of othe
  • Texel Sheep Society
    Formed in 1974 the British Texel Sheep Society has grown into the largest registry of Pedigree Texel sheep anywhere in the world. Today 2,000 Texel flock-masters birth notify around 55,000 lambs with 20,000 females and 1,500 males going onto full pedigree
  • Wensleydale Longwool Sheep Breeders' Association
    The Wensleydale is a very large longwool sheep, described by the British Meat and Livestock Commission as “probably the heaviest of all our indigenous breeds”
  • Whitefaced Woodland Sheep Society
    Since the Whitefaced Woodland is a large hardy sheep producing good meat and wool, a group was set up in 1986 to raise awareness of these positive attributes. In 2004, this became the Whitefaced Woodland Sheep Society, with the aim of “preserving and pro
  • Wiltshire Horn Sheep Society
    he Wiltshire Horn Sheep Society maintains, develops and promotes the UK’s rapidly expanding pedigree Wiltshire Horn Flock.
  • Zwartbles Sheep Association
    The first Zwartbles were imported to the United Kingdom in the early 1990s and the UK Zwartbles Sheep Association was formed in 1995. Traditionally used for both milk and meat in the Netherlands, they declined significantly in use until listed as critical

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