Farmer brings in CCTV to protect £55,000 ‘exotic’ flock
One of Scotland’s top Charolais bull breeders has imported a flock of Valais Blacknose sheep from Switzerland and describes them as “the cutest sheep in the world”.
Speyside is renowned as a stronghold of traditional livestock, but the hills around Tomintoul have come alive in recent weeks with the 10 exotic ewes and ram, which farmer Raymond Irvine said is worth £55,000.
To protect them he has bought guard dogs and installed round-the-clock CCTV surveillance.
“We’ve had sheep and machinery stolen in the past, so we need to guard them,” he said. “But they’re so distinctive, resale would probably be extremely difficult.”
Mr Irvine, of Inverourie Farm, and his girlfriend Jenny McAllister first saw the sheep in a photograph. They then travelled to Switzerland to a sale of more than 700 Valais Blacknoses.
Read also: Use EBVs to help select best rams
He described them as “bigger than they look and longer than Blackfaces”.
“I saw the picture and thought they weren’t real. They looked like cuddly toys, but I fell in love with them – simple as that,” he said.
“After we got them home we posted photos on our Facebook page and got 2,000 ‘likes’ in the first week. We’ve been inundated with offers to sell ever since, but there won’t be any on the market until next summer and the order book is already full for years to come.”
Such is the interest in the breed, he has agreed to exhibit the animals at several summer shows and will enter them in a competition at Turriff Show at the beginning of August.
It is thought to be the first time the breed will ever been shown in Britain.
Mr Irvine said fellow farmers laugh when they first hear about the sheep. “But when they see them, they can’t believe how big and long they are. That’s when they think I’m maybe not so stupid,” he added.