List of Scottish breeds

This is a list of domesticated animal breeds originating from Scotland. To be considered domesticated, a population of animals must have their behaviour, life cycle, or physiology systemically altered as a result of being under human control for many generations.^[1]

Scotland has produced some of the longest established breeds of domesticated animals still in existence. There are 37 individual breeds of animals from Scotland still in existence and three extinct breeds. The Soay Sheep has prehistoric origins, and the Galloway breed of beef cattle dates back several hundred years. New breeds have also been developed more recently in Scotland, such as the Scottish Fold cat, which dates from 1961.^[2]

The North Ronaldsay Sheep is a most unusual breed, subsisting largely on a diet of seaweed,^[3] and the Boreray is the UK's rarest sheep, having been listed as "Category 2: Endangered" by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.^[4] Some breeds, such as the Shetland Pony and the Border Collie are well known throughout much of the Western world, whilst others such as the Scots Dumpy chicken are little-known, even at home. Nine breeds of dog have Scottish origins, including five terrier breeds.^[5] Indeed the relative isolation of many of Scotland's numerous islands has led to a preponderance of breeds from these places being represented. Various breeds are now extinct, including the Grice, an archaic and somewhat aggressive pig.^[6]

Extant breeds

A Sheltie and a Rough Collie (right)

Breed	Photo	Species	Date of Origin	Location of Origin	Status
Scottish Fold		Cat	1961	Coupar Angus	Rare[2]
Aberdeen Angus		Cattle	18th century	Angus	Common[7]
Ayrshire Cattle		Cattle	prior to 1800	Ayrshire	Common[8][9]
Belted Galloway		Cattle	17–18th century	Galloway	Rare[10]
Galloway		Cattle	700–1100	Galloway	Established worldwide[11]
Highland Cattle		Cattle	Pre 19th century	West Highlands	Established worldwide[12]
Luing Cattle		Cattle	Post 1947	Luing	"Firmly established"[13]
Shetland Cattle		Cattle	700–1100	Shetland	At risk[14]
Scots Dumpy		Chicken	11th century	Highlands	Rare[15][16]
Scots Grey		Chicken	16th century	Lanarkshire	Rare[17][18]
Bearded Collie		Dog	16th century?	Scottish Borders?	Common[19]
Border Collie		Dog	pre 19th century	Possibly Scottish Borders	Common[20]
Border Terrier		Dog	c. 1790	Scottish Borders	Common[21]
Cairn Terrier		Dog	16th century–19th century.	Skye	Common[22]
Dandie Dinmont		Dog	mid 18th century or before	Skye and Scottish Borders	Rare[22][23]
Golden Retriever		Dog	19th century	Glen Affric	Common[24]
Gordon Setter		Dog	1820s	Moray	Bred in UK and US[25]
Rough Collie and Smooth Collie		Dog	19th century	England, partly using working Collies from Scotland.	Common[26]
Scottish Terrier or Scottie		Dog	16th century–19th century	Skye	Common[22][27]
Scottish Deerhound		Dog	as a purebreed from early 19th century	Probably the Highlands	Common
Shetland Sheepdog or Sheltie		Dog	1700	England, partly using shepherd dogs from Shetland of now extinct type.	[28]
Skye Terrier		Dog	pre 1588	Skye	Vulnerable Native Breed[22][29][30]
West Highland White Terrier or Westie		Dog	mid 19th century	Skye & Argyll	Common[22]
Shetland Goose		Goose	?	Shetland	UK and US - Critical[31][32]
Clydesdale		Horse	mid 18th century	Clydesdale	At Risk[33]
Eriskay Pony		Horse		Hebrides	Critical[34][35]
Highland Pony		Horse	16th century	Highlands and Islands	At Risk[36][37][38]
Shetland Pony		Horse	"For over 2000 years and probably much longer".[39][40]	Shetland	Common[39][41]
Boreray or Hebridean Blackface		Sheep	1930s	St Kilda, Scotland	Critical[42]
Castlemilk Moorit		Sheep	1900s	Dumfriesshire, from more ancient Scottish and other breeds including Soay and Shetland.	Critical[43][44]
Cheviot		Sheep	14th century or earlier	Scottish Borders	Common[45]
Hebridean Sheep		Sheep	19th Century (Iron Age)	Cumbria, probably from sheep from the Hebrides	Rare[46]
North Country Cheviot		Sheep	18th century	Cheviot Hills, Caithness, Sutherland	UK and North America[47]
North Ronaldsay Sheep		Sheep	Iron Age	North Ronaldsay	Rare[3][48]
Scottish Blackface		Sheep	16th century?[49][50]	Scottish Borders	Common[49]
Shetland Sheep		Sheep	Iron Age	Shetland	UK and North America[51]
Soay Sheep		Sheep	Neolithic or Bronze Age	Soay, St Kilda	Rare[52][4]

Extinct breeds

Paisley Terrier

Prior to their demise, the Paisley Terrier contributed to the bloodline of the Yorkshire Terrier and the Scottish Tan Face to the Boreray sheep. Although Galloway Ponies were praised by Gervaise Markham in the 17th century for their "fine shape, easie pace, pure metall and infinit toughness", true to form Samuel Johnson described them as "common hackneys".^[53] It shares its origins with the still extant Fell Pony. A model of the Grice, whose habit of attacking lambs cannot have aided its survival, was recreated by a taxidermist in 2006.^[6]

See also

• Fauna of Scotland
• Shetland animal breeds
• Scottish inventions and discoveries

References