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History of Breed
Description of Breed
Purpose of Breed
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Breed Development
Breeders
Vendéen Sheep
Society Ltd
Secretary: Andrew John Darkes House
Conderton Tewkesbury Gloucestershire GL20 7PP
Tel/Fax: 01386 725229
History of the Breed
The Vendéen breed has been known in the Vendee region of France for many hundreds of years and is said to owe some of its blood to sheep saved from the wrecks of Spanish galleons at the time of the Armada. More definite links were established with the importation of Southdown sheep to the Vendee a little over a century ago. Recently sheep have been selected to provide lean meat as demanded by the French market. Further selection has been made in recent years for hardiness and prolificacy.
The first importation into Britain was in 1981 (at about which time the British Vendéen Sheep Society was formed) when the first ewe lambs to be imported all produced twins.