North European short-tailed breeds of sheep: A review

Abstract

The short-tailed sheep, native of an area stretching from Russia to Iceland, are generally considered a primitive type. These robust northern sheep seem to have been spread by Norse vikings to several countries in this area from the late eighth century to the middle of the eleventh century ad. They have several common characteristics in addition to the fluke-shaped and tapered short tail, such as a wide range of colour patterns, dual-coated wool and the ability to thrive under harsh environmental conditions, often in isolated marginal areas. While 34 short-tailed breeds of North European origin can still be identified, it is clear that their population sizes have declined in most cases and several of them are now rare and endangered. Although these breeds have mainly been confined to certain localities, some of them have gained considerable distribution due to their genetic merits, such as prolificacy. Of these, the Finnsheep and the Romanov are best known being exported to several countries in the world where their genetic material has been utilized through crossbreeding with local sheep. This has resulted in the production of some new synthetic breeds. Meat is now generally the main product of the North European short-tailed breeds and their crossbreds, whereas wool, skins and milk are normally regarded as byproducts, yet of considerable economic importance in some cases. Such breeds have clearly a role to play in sustainable grassland-based production systems in the future.

Full text

59th Annual Meeting of the
European Association for Animal Production
Vilnius, Lithuania, 24-27 August 2008
North European short-tailed breeds of sheep : a review
Ólafur R. Dýrmundsson
The Farmers Association of Iceland
Bændahöllinni, IS-107 Reykjavík, Iceland
Tel.: +354-563-0300/0317 Fax: +354-562-3058
E-mail: ord@bondi.is Webpage: www.bondi.is
Roman Niznikowski
Warsaw University of Life Sciences
Ciszewskiego Street 8, PL 02-786, Poland
Tel./Fax +48-220-593-6549
E-mail: roman_niznikowski@aen.waw.pl Webpage: www.sggv.pl
Introduction
This review paper is based on the results of a postal / e-mail questionnaire survey, information
obtained through personal communications and on several references to North European
short-tailed breeds of sheep in books, journals and webpages. Emphasis was placed on
geographic location, distribution and present purebred population size. The economic value
and importance, as well as products and role under a range of conditions, are covered but only
brief references are made to crossbreeding which will be dealt with in more detail in another
paper (Thomas, 2008). Although information was obtained on 34 short-tailed breeds
originating in Northern Europe it should be kept in mind that several of them are now rare and
endangered and continued efforts are needed to conserve their great genetic diversity (Tapio,
2006). Breeds with North-European short-tail ancestry such as the Estonian Ruhnu, the
Estonian Saaremaa, the Lithuanian Native Coarsewooled and the Norwegian Grey Troender
sheep (Tapio et al., 2005a; Tapio et al., 2005b), and possibly the Herdwick sheep in the UK
(Ryder 1983), are not classified as short-tails, presumably due to their longer tails as a results
of crossing with long-tailed breeds. Thus they could not be included in the survey.
Breed characteristics
The short - tailed sheep native of an area from Russia to Iceland, are generally considered a
primitive type spread by Norse Vikings to several countries in this area from the late 8th
century to the middle of the 11th century A.D. (Ryder, 1983). The Soay, the most primitive
breed of sheep belonging to the Northern short-tailed group of breeds, certainly resembles the
wild Mouflon sheep. As in their ancient predecessors their fluke shaped and tapered short tail
is a common feature, however, varying somewhat in length. Normally, there are 8-10
vertebrae in the tail of short-tailed sheep (Hlídar, 1937) compared to 16 - 18 vertebrae in long
- tailed sheep (Frandson, 1974). Comprehensive studies on microsatellite variation and
genetic diversity in North European sheep breeds have been reported on in recent years
(Tapio et al., 2005a; Tapio et al. 2005b; Tapio, 2006; Eythórsdóttir, 2007). These and other
studies have demonstrated clearly several common characteristics of the North European short

2
- tailed breeds, in addition to the short tail, such as a wide range of colour patterns, dual
coated wool, robustness and prolificacy (Adalsteinsson, 1970; Maijala and Österberg, 1977;
Jakubec 1977; Ricordeau et al., 1978; Finnsheep, 1988; Fahmy, 1989; Kantanen, 2003;
Niclasen, 2007). Both polled and horned sheep are found in these breeds, in some cases sex
linked, and even fourhornedness is still known in a few of them (British Sheep, 1998;
Dýrmundsson 2005). Furthermore, they vary a great deal in size and productive performance
and although often found in isolated, marginal areas, thriving under harsh environmental
conditions, some of the short - tailed breeds perform well in milder climates (Ryder, 1983;
Villsauen, 1997; British Sheep, 1998; www.sheep-isle.dk).
The best known breeds of this group outside Northern Europe are the Finnsheep and the
Romanov which have been exported to several countries in the world where their genetic
merits, especially prolificacy, have been utilized through crossbreeding with local sheep
(Thomas, 2008). Thus they have played an important role in the production of some new
synthetic/composite breeds in several countries through hybridizations.
Distribution and size of purebred populations
Generally speaking most of the purebred North European short - tails have developed in and
are confined to certain areas or countries in Northern Europe. Thus they tend to be local
breeds with some exceptions, however. Several of them have become transboundary,
especially in Scandinavia and the UK (Ryder, 1983; Tapio, 2006) and, for example, sheep of
the Iceland breed constitute the Greenland sheep population due to exports from Iceland in the
early 20th century (Sigurdsson, 1938; Dýrmundsson,1990), with minor influence from other
breeds. In some cases certain sub-groups or strains are officially recorded within breeds, e.g.
in the German Heath Sheep (www.genres.de). On the contrary, several small, local,
populations of landrace sheep are classified and recorded as separate, heritage breeds, for
example in Sweden (Svenska almogefår, 2005).
Table 1 lists the 34 breeds on which information was obtained, named alphabetically in
English followed by the local name in brackets, if different. It should be noted that although
the country of origin of each breed is stated with reasonable accuracy this may not be the case
for the distribution in other countries. The population sizes, based on the most up-to-date
information on the number of breeding sheep (ewes+rams) in each case, should be regarded
as minimum values. For some of the breeds there are indications that a certain number, even
whole flocks, are unregistered and in a few cases feral flocks could not be included, such as of
the Boreray Sheep on the island of Boreray in the St. Kilda archipelago and Soay Sheep on
the islands of Hirta and Soay in Scotland.
In general, most of the distribution of the North European short - tails has been confine to
countries bordering on or close to the countries of origin. However, since the 1960s some of
the breeds have gained considerable distribution, especially the Finnsheep and the Romanov,
and in recent decades breeds such as the Iceland, Gotland and Shetland, especially in North-
American, as indicated in Table 1. In summary (Table 1), the total number is 872.012
breeding sheep kept in purebred populations in several countries, mainly in Northern Europe
and North America. The population size is less than 1000 head in 12 of the breeds, i.e. they
are endangered, 13 breeds are in the range of 1.000 - 10.000 sheep, 7 are in the range of
10.000 - 100.000 and only 2 are more numerous than 100.000. Comments made by several of
those replying to the questionnaire indicate that many of these short - tail populations have
been declining in numbers in their countries of orgin, some over a long period of time.
However, in some cases this negative trend has been reversed by conservation efforts and
some of the breeds have even been introduced to new countries with some success during

3
recent decades. The purebred populations sizes of the internationally best known North
European short - tailed breeds, the Finnsheep and the Romonov, 16.000 and 23.000,
respectively, are perhaps smaller than one would expect. The relatively strong position of the
Iceland breed is at least partly due to the fact it is the only breed of sheep kept in that
geographically isolated country where a strong sheep-keeping tradition exists. (Eythórsdóttir
et al., 2008).
Table 1 The status of North European short-tailed breeds of sheep:
distribution and purebred population size
Distribution Name of breed
Country of origin Other countries
Breeding sheep
n
Aland Island Sheep
(Ålandsfår)
Finland
(Aland Islands)
900
Asen Sheep
(Åsenfår)
Sweden 979
Boreray Sheep Scotland England, Wales 276
Castlemilk
Moorit Sheep
Scotland England, Wales,
Netherlands
1.042
Dala Fur Sheep
(Dala pälsfår)
Sweden 200
Faeroe Sheep
(Føroyskur seyður)
Faeroes Denmark 80.000
Finnsheep
(Suomenlammas,
Finsk lantrasfår)
Finland 40 countries in
Europe, North-America, Asia, Africa,
New Zealand
16.000
German Heath Sheep
(Heidschnucke)
Germany Denmark 9.295
Gestrike Sheep
(Gestrikefår)
Sweden 159
Gotland Sheep
(Gotlandsfår)
Sweden Denmark, Germany,
UK, USA
14.387
Grey of Kainuu Sheep
(Kainuun harmaslammas)
Finland 700
Gute Sheep
(Gutefår)
Sweden Denmark, Germany 7.000
Hebridean Sheep Scotland England, Wales 23.000
Helsinge Sheep
(Helsingefår)
Sweden 176
Iceland Sheep
(Íslenska sauðkindin)
Iceland Greenland, USA, Canada, UK,
Denmark, Norway, Germany,
Switzerland
500.000
Klövsjö Sheep
(Klövsjöfår)
Sweden 97
Manx Loaghtan Sheep England Scotland, Wales, Belgium, Netherlands 3.000
North Ronaldsey Sheep Scotland England, Wales 900
Norwegian Pelt Sheep
(Norsk pelssau)
Norway 8.000
Norwegian Speal Sheep
(Moderne spælsau)
Norway Denmark, Sweden 120.000
Old Norse Sheep
(Villsau)
Norway Denmark
20.700
Old Spael Sheep
(Gammelnorsk spælsau)
Norway Denmark 3.500
Polish Heath Sheep
(Wrzosówka)
Poland Lithuania, Belarus 4.295
Romanov
(Romanovska Ovce)
Russia Several countries in Europe, North
America, Africa, Asia
23.000

4
Roslag Sheep
(Roslagsfår)
Sweden 675
Russian Viena Sheep
(Viena Ovce)
Russia
(Karelia)
100
(estimated)
Rya Sheep
(Ryafår)
Sweden Norway 1.000
Shetland Sheep Scotland England, Wales, USA, Canada 13.000
Skuddy Sheep
(Skudden)
Germany Poland 3.700
Soay Sheep Scotland England, Wales, Germany, USA 2.000
Svårdsjö Sheep
(Svårdsjöfår)
Sweden 55
Swedish Finewool Sheep
(Svenskt finullfår)
Sweden Finland 3.669
Ushant Sheep
(Moutons d'Ouessant)
France
(Brittany)
Netherlands,
Belgium, Germany, UK
8.493
Värmland Sheep
(Värmlandsfår)
Sweden 1.814
Total = 872.112
Breed utilization, breeding practices and products
There is a great deal of variation in the national or regional economic importance of the North
European short - tailed breeds in the countries where they are kept. This may range from the
value of niche production of endangered populations of conservation breeds, such as in
Sweden, Finland and the UK, to substantial production, mainly of lamb, in Iceland, the
Faeroes and Norway. In some areas the browsing ability of such breeds is of great value in
landscape management and conservation grazing. Overall, the results of the survey (Table 2)
show that comparing the importance of the North European short-tailed breeds to other breeds
in respective countries on the scale of little, considerable great and vital, show the
numerical values 26, 3, 3 and 2, respectively. This reflects very strongly on the weak position
of several of the breeds in economic terms leaving open the question of the value of the
genetic, cultural and societal resources involved which should not be overlooked.
The incidence of crossbreeding classified as none, low, considerable and high (Table 2) is
low in 28 of the breeds and in 1 none at all, at least in the country of origin. In 3 out of the 34
breeds is crossbreeding regarded as being considerable but in only 2 is the incidence high.
The breeds crossed with are mainly meat types, i.e. lowland and terminal sire breeds of
European origin. The priority ranking of the products of the North European short-tailed
breeds shows in fact clearly (Table 2) that meat production is most important in 20 out of the
34 breeds with wool and skins being by-products. Although market trends have favoured
lamb production and the economic returns of wool and skins have declined, especially during
the last 20 years, it is interesting to note that still in 9 of the breeds first priority is given to
wool and in 5 to skins. Out of the four products meat, wool, skins and milk, milk ranked
lowest overall in all the breeds included in the survey. A few cases are known, however, of
such sheep being kept in specialized dairy units.

Table 2 The status of North European short-tailed breeds of sheep:
importance, breeding practices and products
Name of breed Importance compared
to national sheep
population
Incidence of
crossbreeding and breeds
involved
Priority ranking of the
products meat, wool,
skins and milk
Aland Island Sheep
(Ålandsfår)
little low
Finnsheep
wool
skins
meat
milk
Asen Sheep
(Åsenfår)
little low wool
skins
meat
milk
Boreray Sheep little low meat
wool
skins
milk
Castlemilk
Moorit Sheep
little low
UK lowland breeds
meat
wool
skins
milk
Dala Fur Sheep
(Dala pälsfår)
little low skins
wool
meat
milk
Faeroe Sheep
(Føroyskur seyður)
vital low
Scottish Blackface
meat
wool
skins
milk
Finnsheep
(Suomenlammas,
Finsk lantrasfår)
great High Texel, Oxford,
Down and several other
breeds in 40 countries
meat
wool
skins
milk
German Heath Sheep
(Heidschnucke)
little low meat
wool
skins
milk
Gestrike Sheep
(Gestrikefår)
little low wool
meat
skin
milk
Gotland Sheep
(Gotlandsfår)
great low
Leicester, Texel
and other breeds
skins
meat
wool
milk
Grey of Kainuu Sheep
(Kainuun harmaslammas)
little low skins
wool
meat
milk
Gute Sheep
(Gutefår)
little low
Texel
meat
wool
skins
milk
Hebridean Sheep considerable considerable
Suffolk, Texel,
Charollais and other
terminal sire breeds
meat
wool
skins
milk

Helsinge Sheep
(Helsingefår)
little low wool
skins
meat
milk
Iceland Sheep
(Íslenska sauðkindin)
vital
(only breed in Iceland
and Greenland)
none in Iceland,
low in other countries
meat
wool
skins
milk
Klövsjö Sheep
(Klövsjöfår)
little low
Gute Sheep
wool
skins
meat
milk
Manx Loaghtan Sheep little low
UK terminal sire and long-
wool breeds
meat
wool
skins
milk
North Ronaldsey Sheep little low meat
wool
skins
milk
Norwegian Pelt Sheep
(Norsk pelssau)
little low skins
meat
wool
milk
Norwegian Speal Sheep
(Moderne spælsau)
great low
Iceland Sheep, Finnsheep
meat
wool
skins
milk
Old Norse Sheep
(Villsau)
little low meat
skins
wool
milk
Old Spael Sheep
(Gammelnorsk spælsau)
little low meat
wool
skins
milk
Polish Heath Sheep
(Wrzosówka)
little low
Polish and other
lowland breeds
skins
meat
wool
milk
Romanov
(Romanovska Ovce)
little high
mainly several meat breeds
in many countries
meat
wool
skins
milk
Roslag Sheep
(Roslagsfår)
little low wool
meat
skins
milk
Russian Viena Sheep
(Viena Ovce)
little low meat
wool
skins
milk
Rya Sheep
(Ryafår)
little low
Texel and other meat
breeds
wool
meat
skins
milk
Shetland Sheep considerable considerable
North Country Cheviot,
also Suffolk and other
terminal sire breeds
meat
wool
skins
milk

7
Skuddy Sheep
(Skudden)
little low meat
wool
skins
milk
Soay Sheep little low
UK lowland breeds
meat
wool
skins
milk
Svårdsjö Sheep
(Svårdsjöfår)
little low wool
skins
meat
milk
Swedish Finewool Sheep
(Svenskt finullfår)
considerable considerable
Texel, Oxford Down and
other terminal sire breeds
wool
meat
skins
milk
Ushant Sheep
(Moutons d'Ouessant)
little low meat
wool
skins
milk
Värmland Sheep
(Värmlandsfår)
little low meat
wool
skins
milk
Discussion and conclusions
In spite of the fact that purebred populations of the North European short-tailed breeds have
been declining over a long period of time, and are now endangered in several cases, they
should not be looked upon as relics from the past. Although adapted to certain local / regional
conditions in the Northern Hemisphere, at least some of these breeds have much to offer in
the international context and a few have already done so, especially in relation to prolificacy
and mothering ability. They can improve the efficiency of production of both quality food and
fibre, not least in grassland-based, low-energy input and easy-care systems. Even the short
tail, eliminating the need for docking, has its value, at least from an animal welfare point of
view. Then there are certain genetic traits of less obvious economic value such as the unique
ability of North Ronaldsey sheep to feed almost entirely on seaweed (Ryder, 1983) and the
leadersheep behaviour which has evolved in a strain of the Iceland breed (Dýrmundsson,
2002). Let us keep in mind that genetic diversity is now recognized internationally as a
valuable resource (Finland, 2003) and this is reflected in the work of the EAAP and the FAO
in Europe and elsewhere, in harmony with sustainability criteria. Comprehensive data banks
are being established, such as the EFABISnet, and cryopreservation is also in progress. As far
as the North European short-tailed breeds are concerned there are certainly cases of
endangered breeds being saved from extinction, such as Old Norse Sheep (Villsau) in
Norway, Grey of Kainuu Sheep (Kainuun harmaslammas) in Finland, Polish Heath Sheep
(Wrzosówka) in Poland and Castlemilk Moorit Sheep in the UK. Individual breeders,
breeders groups and bodies, such as the Nordic Gene Bank for Domestic Animals in the
Nordic Countries and the Rare Breeds Survival Trust in the UK, have indeed contributed
significantly to the conservation of these and other breeds. Research bodies have also made
valuable contributions, unusual qualities have been revealed from recorded data (British
Sheep, 1998), single genes inhancing production have been discovered (Eythórsdóttir et. al.,
2008) and there is a good reason to believe that a larger number of valuable traits will be
identified through scientific studies thus making the breeds more attractive and competitive in
modern sheep farming. Dýrmundsson, (2006) has pointed out that sheep production systems

8
in Northern Europe fulfil most criteria of sustainability in agriculture. The North European
short - tailed breeds certainly fit well into that picture. The results of the survey presented
above may somewhat simplify the status of the North European short-tailed breeds. However,
it is a matter of concern how small most of the purebred populations are. Many of these
breeds, parhaps all of them, or genetic material derived from them, should have a future role
to play in sustainable grassland-based production systems. Therefore we conclude by
proposing that we should discuss, amongst other things, how best the genetic resources of the
North European short-tailed breeds can be managed and utilized, both in pure - and
crossbreeding, because this is the most effective way of preserving and delivering them to
future generations of sheep farmers.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the following for giving useful sheep breed information from their countries:
Anton Pinschof (France)
Birgit Boberg (Sweden)
Charles H. Rose (Greenland)
GEMO, Ushant Sheep Breeding Society (France)
Gert Nieuwhof (United Kingdom)
Gunnar Bjarnason (Faeroes)
ISBONA, Icelandic Sheep Breeders of North America (Canada and United States of America)
Jackis Lannek (Sweden)
Jayne Drinkwater (United Kingdom)
Jill Tyrer (United Kingdom)
Jim Johnson (United Kingdom)
Kjeld Malthe - Bruun (Denmark)
Kreg Leymaster (United States of America)
Lars Erik Wallin (Norway)
Lawrence Alderson (United Kingdom)
Lindsey Tapp (United Kingdom)
Maija Häggblom (Finland)
Maria Ericson (Sweden)
Marja- Leena Puntila (Finland)
Mark Joung (New Zealand)
Matthias Gauly (Germany)
Patrick Miossec (France)
Peter Hardman (United Kingdom)
Sergeij Kharitonov (Russia)
Ulla Savolainen (Finland)
Vicky Mason (United Kingdom)
Zhivko I. Duchev (Germany)

9
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