The

Shetland Islands Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the Uni ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

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, usually measured under a specified height at maturity. Ponies often have thicker coats, manes and tails, compared to larger horses, and proportionally shorter legs, wider barrels, heavier , thicker necks and s ...

. Shetlands range in size from about 710 to 1070 mm, with 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 type, similar to the

Icelandic Sheepdog The Icelandic Sheepdog (, ), is an Icelandic dog breed, breed of dog of spitz, Nordic Spitz Dog type, type. It derives from dogs brought to Iceland by Viking settlers in the ninth century; it is both similar and closely related to the Buhund of N ...

and other

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

n dogs. However, in the course of development in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

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/ cute appearances, inte ...

breed, it was crossbred with other dogs including the Rough Collie and the Pomeranian; and the modern Shetland or "Sheltie" now resembles a miniature Rough Collie. 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 place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese, and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building, or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also des ...

and

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...

. 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 group of breeds, and were regarded as a local version of the extinct Scottish Dunface, 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 the Outer Hebrides (Western Isles). The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act o ...

of Scotland (and which was also the ancestor of the Hebridean and North Ronaldsay sheep). Shetlands are classed as a

landrace A landrace is a Domestication, 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 (biophysical), environment of agric ...

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 making them 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". 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 (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Shetland goose

The Shetland goose is a small, hardy breed of domestic goose 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 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 respons ...

Shetland duck

The Shetland duck is a small, hardy breed of

domestic duck Domestic ducks (mainly mallards, ''Anas platyrhynchos domesticus'', with some Muscovy ducks, ''Cairina moschata domestica'') are ducks that have been domesticated and raised for meat and egg (food), eggs. A few are kept for show, or for thei ...

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