The

Shetland Islands Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the n ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

have long had their own distinct animal breeds, due to the remoteness of the archipelago. Below is a list of Shetland's domesticated animals.

Shetland Pony

The Shetland Pony is a very small, robust breed of

pony A pony is a type of small horse ('' Equus ferus caballus''). Depending on the context, a pony may be a horse that is under an approximate or exact height at the withers, or a small horse with a specific conformation and temperament. Compared ...

. Shetlands range in size from about 710 to 1070 mm, an official maximum height at the withers (1200 mm for American Shetlands). Shetland Ponies have heavy coats and short legs, and are considered quite intelligent. They are a very strong breed, used for riding, driving, and pack purposes."Breed History"
Shetland Pony Studbook Society. Cit. 20.7.2009.

Shetland Sheepdog

The original Shetland Sheepdog was of

Spitz Spitz (derived from the German word ''spitz'' 'pointed') is a type of domestic dog characterized by long, thick, and often white fur, and pointed ears and muzzles. The tail often curls over the dog's back or droops. While all of the breeds rese ...

type, similar to the Icelandic Sheepdog and other

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and S ...

n dogs. However, in the course of development in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

as a

pet A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive appearances, intelligence ...

breed, it was crossbred with other dogs including the

Rough Collie The Rough Collie (also known as the Long-Haired Collie) is a long-coated dog breed of medium to large size that, in its original form, was a type of collie used and bred for herding sheep in Scotland. More recent breeding has focused on the Co ...

and the Pomeranian; and the modern Shetland or "Sheltie" now resembles a miniature

. The original working Shetland Sheepdog does not survive. Modern Shetland Sheepdogs are used primarily as pets, but excel at canine sports such as agility and obedience. Most retain some herding instinct, to varying degrees. They are among the most loyal breeds of dogs, sometimes referred to as a "shadow," because they are generally found right by their human's side.

Shetland cattle

The cattle kept in Shetland developed as a very hardy, small breed, used for both

dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

and

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantit ...

. Modern Shetland cattle are usually pied black and white, although other colours were common in the past and sometimes still occur. These cattle are similar in type to other European traditional cattle breeds, and are sometimes used for

conservation grazing Conservation grazing or targeted grazing is the use of semi- feral or domesticated grazing livestock to maintain and increase the biodiversity of natural or semi-natural grasslands, heathlands, wood pasture, wetlands and many other habitats.

(the management of natural habitats using grazing animals).

Shetland sheep

Sheep have been kept in the Shetland Isles for at least a thousand years. They are one of the

Northern European short-tailed sheep The Northern European short-tailed sheep are a group of traditional sheep breeds or types found in Northern Europe, mainly in the British Isles, Scandinavia, Greenland and the area around the Baltic. They are thought to be derived from the fi ...

group of breeds, and were regarded as a local version of the extinct

Scottish Dunface The Scottish Dunface, Old Scottish Short-wool, Scottish Whiteface or Scottish Tanface was a type of sheep from Scotland. It was one of the Northern European short-tailed sheep group, and it was probably similar to the sheep kept throughout the Br ...

, which was found throughout the

Highlands and Islands The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland and Outer Hebrides (Western Isles). The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act of 1 ...

of Scotland (and which was also the ancestor of the Hebridean and

North Ronaldsay North Ronaldsay (, also , sco, North Ronalshee) is the northernmost island in the Orkney archipelago of Scotland. With an area of , it is the fourteenth-largest.Haswell-Smith (2004) p. 334 It is mentioned in the '' Orkneyinga saga''; in moder ...

sheep). Shetlands are classed as a

landrace A landrace is a domesticated, locally adapted, often traditional variety of a species of animal or plant that has developed over time, through adaptation to its natural and cultural environment of agriculture and pastoralism, and due to isolatio ...

or "unimproved" breed. Although Shetlands are small and slow-growing compared to other breeds, they are hardy, thrifty, easy lambers, adaptable and long-lived. The Shetland breed has survived for centuries in difficult conditions and on a poor diet so they thrive in better conditions. Shetlands retain many of their primitive survival instincts so they are easier to care for than many modern breeds.

Shetland pig

Shetland was the last surviving locality for a type of domestic pig known as the "

grice The grice was a breed of swine found in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and in Ireland. Culley, George(1807), ''Observations on Livestock'', pub Wilkie, Robinson et al, p 176/ref> It became extinct, surviving longest in the Shetland Isle ...

". Small in size yet ferocious, this domesticated breed of pig fell out of favour with crofters during the 19th century; sometime between the middle of the 19th century and the 1920s, the breed became extinct. In addition to the Shetland Islands, the grice had once been found throughout the

of Scotland, as well as in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

Shetland goose

The Shetland goose is a small, hardy breed of

domestic goose A domestic goose is a goose that humans have domesticated and kept for their meat, eggs, or down feathers. Domestic geese have been derived through selective breeding from the wild greylag goose (''Anser anser domesticus'') and swan goose (''Ans ...

originating in the islands. It is sexually dimorphic, with ganders being entirely white and females white with grey patches. They tend to mate for life and are extremely good foragers. A small number have been exported to North America, but are not yet recognised by the

American Poultry Association The American Poultry Association (APA) is the oldest poultry organization in the North America. It was founded in 1873, and incorporated in Indiana in 1932. The first American poultry show was held in 1849, and the APA was later formed in resp ...

Shetland duck

The Shetland duck is a small, hardy breed of domestic duck originating in the islands. It is similar to the Pomeranian duck or Swedish Blue duck. It is black with a white bib. Shetland drakes have sky blue bills and Shetland duck females have slate blue bills. The average weight of the Shetland duck is 2 kg for males and 1,8 kg for females. It is critically endangered.

References

{{Agriculture in the United Kingdom Fauna of Scotland Fauna of Shetland Livestock