The Lonk is a British breed of domestic sheep. It belongs to the group of black-faced hill breeds of northern England,[4]: 851 [5]: 462 and is found in the hills of the central and southern Pennines of Lancashire and Yorkshire.[6][7] It is documented from the mid-eighteenth century; a flock book was started in 1905.[8]
 Ram, ewe and lamb | |
| Conservation status | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Improved Haslingden |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Distribution | |
| Traits | |
| Weight | |
| Height | |
| Wool colour | white |
| Face colour | black or mottled |
| Horn status | horned in both sexes |
| |
History
editThe Lonk has been reared on the fells of Lancashire and Yorkshire for several hundred years; a herd with records going back to 1740 is still in existence.[6] It is particularly associated with the area around Haslingden, and is also known as the Improved Haslingden. The origin of the word 'Lonk' is unknown; it may derive from the Middle English: wlonk, Old English: wlanc, with meanings including 'proud' and 'bold';[4]: 851 [9]: 1291 it may be a word for the coarse grazing of its area of origin;[4]: 851 or it may derive from 'lanky'.[10]
A breed society, the Lonk Sheep Breeders' Association, was established in 1905, and a flock book was begun in the same year.[6][2]
Like other traditional breeds, the Lonk was threatened by the mass slaughter of flocks during the 2001 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth outbreak;[11] some genetic material was placed in storage.[10]
In 1999 the total breed population was reported to DAD-IS at 3645 head.[2] In 2003 a survey found that there might be close to 40 000 head of unregistered stock, but by 2012 this figure had fallen to 20 000.[4]: 851 In 2021 the breed was listed by the FAO as "not at risk";[1]: 120 in 2021 it was reported to DAD-IS as "endangered", and was listed on the watchlist of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust as "at risk".[3]
Characteristics
editThe Lonk is of medium size, though larger than most upland breeds. The face and legs are clear of wool; the legs are mottled black-and-white, the face may be mottled or black; the fleece is white. Both sexes are horned.[6] It is strong-boned, agile, long-lived and hardy, and is well adapted to the environment of its area of origin and to the poor grazing of the fells. It can be kept year-round on upland pasture.[4]: 851 [6]
Use
editLike most other British sheep, the Lonk is reared for its meat and for its wool. Lambs can reach a killing weight of approximately 36 kg on moorland pasture alone.[4]: 851
Ewe fleeces weigh about 3 kg; the wool is rather less coarse than that of many other moorland breeds, with a Bradford count of 44s–56s. It is almost entirely free of kemp.[4]: 851
Ewes kept in lowland conditions may be mated to terminal sire rams, producing fast-growing hybrid lambs that may be ready for slaughter in twelve weeks.[8]
References
edit
- ^ a b Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g Breed data sheet: Lonk / United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Sheep). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed September 2021.
- ^ a b Watchlist overview. Kenilworth, Warwickshire: Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Accessed September 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 9781780647944.
- ^ Michael Lawson Ryder (1983). Sheep and Man. London: Gerald Duckworth & Company. ISBN 9780715616550.
- ^ a b c d e Lonk. Kenilworth, Warwickshire: Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Accessed September 2021.
- ^ List of breeds. York: The Sheep Trust. Accessed September 2021.
- ^ a b The Lonk. The Lonk Sheep Breeders' Association. Archived 19 January 2021.
- ^ Joseph Bosworth, T. Northcote Toller (editor) (1882). An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Based on the Manuscript collections of the Late Joseph Bosworth. Oxford: At the Clarendon Press.
- ^ a b [s.n.] (13 June 2001). Sheep genes could save rare breeds. BBC News. Accessed September 2021.
- ^ The Lonk. Action Heritage Sheep. Archived 10 November 2009.