List of Scottish breeds facts for kids

Scotland is famous for its amazing landscapes, and it's also home to many unique animal breeds! These are animals that have been domesticated, meaning humans have carefully bred and looked after them for many, many years. Because of this, their behavior, life, and even their bodies have changed to fit living with people.

Some Scottish animal breeds are super old, like the Soay Sheep, which has been around since prehistoric times! The Galloway cow breed is also hundreds of years old. But new breeds are still being created, like the Scottish Fold cat, which first appeared in 1961.

You'll find some truly special animals here. For example, the North Ronaldsay Sheep mostly eats seaweed! The Boreray sheep was once very rare, but now it's a bit safer, though still "at risk." Some Scottish breeds are famous worldwide, like the clever Border Collie dog and the tiny, strong Shetland Pony. Others, like the Scots Dumpy chicken, are hardly known, even in Scotland. Scotland has given us fifteen dog breeds, including six types of terriers. Many of these special breeds come from Scotland's islands, where they developed in their own unique ways. Sadly, some breeds, like the wild Grice pig, are now extinct.

Scottish Animal Breeds

Cats

Breed	Image	Place and date of origin	Status
Scottish Fold		Coupar Angus, 1961	Rare

Cattle

Breed	Image	Place and date of origin	Status
Aberdeen Angus		Aberdeenshire, Angus, 18th century	Not at risk
Ayrshire		Ayrshire, before 1800	Not at risk
Belted Galloway		Galloway, 17th–18th century	Rare
Galloway		Galloway, 700–1100 AD	Not at risk
Highland		West Highlands, before 1800	Not at risk
Luing		Luing, after 1947	Not at risk
Shetland		Shetland, 700–1100 AD	At risk

Chickens

Breed	Image	Place and date of origin	Status
Scots Dumpy		Highlands, 11th century	Priority; rare
Scots Grey		Lanarkshire, 16th century	Priority; rare

Dogs

Breed	Image	Place and date of origin	Status
Bearded Collie		Highlands, 16th century	Vulnerable (needs protection)
Border Collie		Scottish Borders, late 19th century	Not at risk
Border Terrier		Scottish Borders, 1700s	Not at risk
Cairn Terrier		Scottish highlands, 16th–19th century	Not at risk
Dandie Dinmont		Skye and Scottish Borders, mid-18th century or earlier	Vulnerable (needs protection)
Golden Retriever		Glen Affric, 1865	Not at risk
Gordon Setter		Moray, 1700s	Vulnerable (needs protection)
Rough Collie		Scottish Highlands, 19th century	Not at risk
Smooth Collie		Scotland, 19th century	Vulnerable (needs protection)
Scottish Terrier		Aberdeen, 15th–16th century	At risk
Scottish Deerhound		Probably the Highlands, possibly in the Middle Ages	Vulnerable (needs protection)
Shetland Sheepdog or Sheltie		1900s	Not at risk
Skye Terrier		Skye, before 1588	Vulnerable (needs protection)
West Highland White Terrier or Westie		Skye & Argyll, 16th century	Not at risk

Geese

Horses

Breed	Image	Place and date of origin	Status
Clydesdale		Clydesdale, 1750s	At risk
Eriskay Pony		Hebrides	Critical (very rare)
Highland Pony		Highlands and Islands, 16th century	At risk
Shetland Pony		Shetland, before Christ	Not at risk

Sheep

Breed	Image	Place and date of origin	Status
Boreray		St Kilda, Scotland, 1930s	Critical (very rare)
Castlemilk Moorit		Dumfriesshire, 1900s	Critical (very rare)
Cheviot		Scottish Borders, 14th century or earlier	Not at risk
Hebridean		Cumbria, 19th century	Rare
North Country Cheviot		Cheviot Hills, Caithness, Sutherland, 18th century	Common
North Ronaldsay		North Ronaldsay, Iron Age	Rare
Scottish Blackface		Scottish Borders, about 1500	Not at risk
Shetland		Shetland, Iron Age	Common
Soay		Soay, St Kilda, Neolithic or Bronze Age	Rare

Extinct Scottish Breeds

A Paisley Terrier

Scotland has also seen some of its animal breeds disappear over time. For example, the Paisley Terrier dog is now extinct, but its genes helped create the Yorkshire Terrier. The Scottish Tan Face sheep also contributed to the Boreray sheep breed we know today.

The Galloway Pony was once praised for being strong and easy to ride. However, it is now extinct, though it shares origins with the Fell Pony which still exists. The Grice was a wild pig known for attacking lambs, which probably didn't help its survival! A model of this pig was made in 2006.

See also

• Fauna of Scotland
• Shetland animal breeds
• Scottish inventions and discoveries