Shropshire (sheep)

The Shropshire breed of domestic sheep originated from the hills of Shropshire, and North Staffordshire, England, during the 1840s. The breeders in the area used the local horned black-faced sheep and crossed them with a few breeds of white-faced sheep (Southdown, Cotswold, and Leicester). This produced a medium-sized polled (hornless) sheep that produced good wool and meat. In 1855 the first Shropshires were imported into the United States (Virginia). This breed is raised primarily for meat.

In 1859 the breed was officially recognized by the Royal Agricultural Society as being a distinct breed. The popularity of the Shropshire breed grew rapidly in England, and in 1882 Shropshire breeders founded the Shropshire Sheep Breeders' Association and Flock Book Society, the world's first such society for sheep. The same year the Society published the first Flock Book, a record of sheep bred and their breeders. The Society still survives, and still publishes a Flock Book annually.

By 1884 more Shropshires were exhibited at the local shows than all other breeds combined. The first documented flock in the United States (one ram and twenty ewes) was brought to Maryland in 1860 by Samuel Sutton. Thousands of Shropshires were exported to the United States after that, as well as to other parts of the English speaking world, notably Australia and New Zealand, and to South America. The breed's adaptability to most environments and their dual-purpose nature led to them quickly becoming a popular breed.

In 1884 the American Shropshire Registry was formed and by the turn of the 20th century the Shropshire was the most numerous breed of sheep in the United States.

By the 1930s the Shropshire had been dubbed "the farm flock favorite" in the United States; but in the 1940s, US breeders began producing Shropshires with more wool cover and decreased size. This led to the breed having increased wool cover around the eyes, thus needing to be trimmed around the eyes for better sight. This hindrance and overall loss of size led to the numbers of the breed decreasing among American farmers. They were no longer the most popular breed of sheep, and became increasingly rare around the world, even in their homeland.

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