St Kilda sheep review underway

Three islands in the St Kilda archipelago hold populations of two types of sheep. Soay sheep range across the main island of Hirta and upon the nearby (but almost inaccessible) island of Soay. Over 4 miles to the northeast of Hirta, the equally inaccessible island of Boreray holds a population of wild Boreray sheep.

The Soay and Boreray sheep are an important part of St Kilda’s heritage – they are a remnant of the community that once lived there and a key part of the human story of the islands. They are recognised in the archipelago’s inscription as a dual World Heritage Site. The persistence of the primitive breed of Soay sheep, free from genetic input from modern breeds, is one of their remarkable features and marks them out as a potentially significant genetic resource. The Boreray sheep are listed on the Rare Breed Survival Trust’s watch list as ‘At Risk’.

The Scottish Animal Welfare Commission (SAWC) is simultaneously conducting a separate, independent review on the welfare of the sheep, which will play a critical role in informing our own findings. They have been asked by the Chief Veterinary Officer in Scotland specifically to look at ‘the moral and ethical issues for landowners associated with the management of feral animals in Scotland, including the sheep on St Kilda, and to produce a collective opinion on welfare issues for these animals’.

We are extremely supportive of this work and have established good links with the working group who are leading this.

It will be vital to consider the findings of this independent review alongside our own, so we will finalise our own recommendations once the SAWC’s findings are published. The SAWC working group expect to conclude their review in July; therefore, our own review will need to be finalised in the second half of the year.

St Kilda is an extremely remote location and some of the terrain is very difficult to access, so it will be critical that both reviews consider the practicality and health and safety implications of the options for the sheep, Trust staff, volunteers and contractors.

If you have any questions about the review, or have a contribution to make, please contact stkildainfo@nts.org.uk