History:
Sheep were among the first animals to be domesticated by humans approximately 8,000 years ago. There are more than 200 breeds of domestic sheep in existence. All of these were developed from the wild sheep of Europe and Asia. They were initially raised for their skins and meat, but as humans learned to spin and weave, they became valuable for their wool as well. The behaviors as well as the appearance of domestic sheep have been altered by centuries of selected breeding by farmers for desirable traits. Due to the rise in popularity of other breeds in the larger production facilities and the decrease in small family farms in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, Cotswold sheep are not as common as they once were. The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy was formed to help save rare breeds of livestock, and lists the Cotswold sheep as a “threatened” breed.
