Yorkshire Philosophical Society

Event Information

A Sheep is a Sheep is a Sheep…. Or is it?

Professor Agnes Winter, Honorary Professor, University of Liverpool

Sheep (and goats) were, after dogs, the next species to be domesticated by humans so have a long history of interaction with people. In this country sheep made the landscape, their wool brought great wealth in the Middle Ages and their meat fed the growing population during the Industrial Revolution. Today in the UK there are over 60 native breeds, which were mainly developed during the 18th and 19th centuries, together with a variety of imported breeds. All have different characteristics and fit in some way into the varying aspects of sheep keeping. Meat production dominates with about 16 million breeding ewes, consisting of pure breeds and various crosses, producing about the same number of lambs annually. Financially, wool production currently contributes little or even negatively to most sheep keeping enterprises.

Professor Agnes Winter, formerly head of the Clinical Department at the University of Liverpool Veterinary School, is a veterinary surgeon who has specialised in sheep health and disease. She will give an overview of the importance of sheep, breed development, the differing physical characteristics of the various breeds, and the structure of sheep farming in the UK and will touch briefly on a few health issues of general interest.