Two of the UK’s native sheep breeds – the Manx Loaghtan and the Leicester Longwool – have been classified as “priority” cases under the new Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) Watchlist 2025-2026.
The categorisation signifies the extent of the extinction risk facing these two sheep breeds currently.
While a number of the rare breeds listed on the watchlist have welcomed stability or improvement in the latest data, the Manx Loaghtan breed and the Leicester Longwool breeds have both seen significant declines in the number of dams producing pedigree offspring.
According to the RBST, the Manx Loaghtan is a “small, primitive, hardy” sheep which grazed the hills of the Isle of Man for generations before becoming so rare that by the 1950s, there was reportedly just a handful remaining.
Since 2022, there has been a 34% decrease in the number of these dams producing pedigree offspring.
The Manx Loaghtan has a reddish-brown fleece and is multihorned with up to six horns.
Its 2024 “effective population” (a measure of genetic diversity which does not equate to the total breed population), was the breed’s lowest since this calculation was first recorded in 2000.
A keen and active browser, the RBST said the breed thrives on rough grazing, and has consequently been used successfully in a number of conservation grazing projects in the UK.
The Leicester Longwool is defined by RBST as a large sheep with a very long, woolly fleece and dark ‘blue’ ears.
Largely developed for their fleece qualities, the breed has lustrous wool with a micron count of 32 to 38 and with a well-defined crimp.
Known for its spiral curl, softness and lustre, the fleece remains highly prized by handspinners and crafters and reportedly played a large role in developing other breeds.
The breed’s popularity declined in the 20th Century as demand for wool fell. In 2024, the number of dams producing pedigree progeny was down 29% on the previous year, and there has also been a continued decline in the Leicester Longwool’s “effective population” size too.
The RBST has called for the UK environment secretary to re-establish the ministerial native breeds roundtable, which was designed to support strategic and coordinated action for native breeds across departments and alongside organisations.
The RBST highlighted encouraging signs of stabilisation in several rare breeds which were previously showing declining numbers, such as Gloucester cattle and the Large White pig, illustrating the positive impacts that can be achieved through concerted action.
RBST was founded in 1973 to promote and conserve the UK’s native breeds of livestock and equines.
The RBST’S Watchlist is the charity’s annual situation report for these breeds, reflecting robust measures of the genetic diversity within each breed, as well as analysis of registration data.
It categorises livestock breeds as ‘Priority’, ‘At Risk’ or ‘UK breeds’, including breeds of most concern as being rare with increasing inbreeding, to breeds of least concern as not rare and has inbreeding well managed.
There is also a category for feral populations recognised in the UK as well as Irish breeds evident in the UK.
According to the charity, the survival of the UK’s rare native breeds is important for sustainable farming, regenerative land management, biodiversity, food chain resilience and genetic diversity, as well as these breeds’ cultural and heritage value.
