The Full Story
About the breed
an english sheep finds its way to america
Origin
The Teeswater sheep finds its origins in the Teesdale region of England. Dating back more than 200 years the breed had reached extremely low population levels before regaining some of its popularity in the 1920s.
The Rare Breed Survival Trust currently classifies the breed as "at-risk" in the UK and the Livestock Conservancy classifies them as "critically endangered in the US
in the United States
While historical records indicate that Teeswaters were imported and bred in the United States in the mid 1800s, no continuous record of those animals remains.
In 1996 Teeswater semen was imported into the US and breeders began using Teeswater semen in 1997. Original rules of upgrading were not formalized for several years, as progress was made and breeders desired to preserve the long term viability of the breeds genetics the records were assembled and formal rules were adopted and the ATSA Registry was started in 2007.
As of 2018 the first flock of Teeswater sheep was exported from Oregon to Canada.
Until the recent import of embryos, all animals in the United States have been the product of extensive upgrading efforts. These populations have been given the designation of achieving " purebred" status based on the rules of the various registries and as of 2018/2019 there are Teeswaters on North American soil that are registered within the UK Flockbook. This designation requires inspection for appropriate type by UK officials.
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At present there are three registries for American Teeswaters: the American Teeswater Sheep Association, the Teeswater Sheep Society - North America and the unaffiliated Teeswater Sheep Society. Each has slightly different rules of registration and upgrading, allowing breeders an opportunity to pick the organization that presents the best fit for their breeding situation and goals.
What does the Future Hold
One of the most significant challenges that any breed association faces is finding a healthy balance between fostering education, promotion of the breed, maintaining accurate records and allowing breeders to pursue their goals. While it might seem reasonable to apply rigorous and onerous registration requirements, "to protect the breed" those types of restrictions tend not to have the desired effect, while also stifling important discussions about needed improvement within the breed.
Ultimately the goal is to produce a stable population of Teeswater Sheep in the United States that meet the breed standard, reproduce consistently and are hardy and adaptable in the various environmental conditions throughout the US. These traits are directly related to their long-term viability, Ideally, these genetic populations mimic those that exist throughout the world and can all act as a reservoir in the event of localized catastrophic events that deplete regional populations.
However, there are some major hurdles to those goals, and many of those stems from fundamental philosophical differences in what the role of a registry or society is and what the role and responsibility of the individual breeder is. A common approach to ensuring genetic "purity" from a breed registry perspective is in simple terms sanctioned in-breeding, with the requirement to avoid "non-registered" members to add genetic diversity. In fact these issues, when considered in the context of the American breed-up programs
While these techniques absolutely have their place, in order for this approach to be sustainable for long periods, the genetic foundation needs to be essentially free from genetic defects and have sufficient diversity to be adaptable to the host region. While good in theory, experience says that this is not the case and there are some significant challenges associated with this approach. Arguably provenance alone should not be the exclusive measure of value, rather, consideration of phenotypic characteristics and multi-generational production records provide equally valuable and perhaps a more reliable basis of evaluation. Many historically recognized innovative breeders focused on type and use of genetically diverse animals that have the genotypic and phenotypic traits that were needed and used pedigrees to inform breeding decisions not the other way around.
The Teeswater Sheep Society seeks to provide an organization that supports breeders in meeting their individual goals while protecting and preserving the Teeswater breed and ensuring that the breeding stock here is considered the gold standard in type and performance all around the world.