* Information on individual herds will be added in due course. We are very happy to receive any information, historical or contemporary, that you may have on any feral herds. Photographs with locations are particularly helpful as is up to date information on numbers.
Coming soon: Details of feral goat herds:
Cheviots – College Valley (see below); Carlcroft/Otterburn
Langholm
Moffatt
Galloway
Kielder
Inversnaid
Machrihanish
In the one hundred years or so between the late nineteenth century and the publication of Whitehead’s gazetteer of feral herds in “The Wild Goats of Great Britain and Ireland” a total of 233 locations where feral goats once occurred have been identified (Whitehead (1972) plus collation by R. Werner from numerous other reports) but these populations have been in decline for some time; many herds comprised very small numbers and many units are now extinct. By the 1950s at least 60 of the 233 locations no longer supported any goats, often due to shooting off as softwood plantations were developed on areas that had formerly been hill farms. In 1969 Greig recorded only 60 populations in Scotland. By 1990 the number of herds had again diminished; Hellawell (1993) records 45 herds across Scotland and northern England with a total population estimated as c.4,000. Large culls subsequently have seen numbers continue to drop dramatically in some areas. Trophy hunting for male horns has also contributed to the decline. The number of true British Primitive Goats has therefore been severely reduced.
However, it is not just the extinction of various herds that is a threat. There has been no widespread overview to date of how many of the remaining feral goats are likely to be true British Primitives that have escaped introgression with modern breeds. We know of some herds composed entirely of modern goat breeds and others where it is apparent that modern breeds have been introduced alongside primitive stock.
In many cases it is not recorded how long each of today’s feral herds has been in existence. They may be of great antiquity or from more recent times. For some, the historical record makes it clear that they existed before the creation of our modern goat breeds in the late 1800 and early 1900s. However, care is needed since knowing goats existed on a site several hundred years ago and that there are goats present at or near that locality today does not in itself indicate continuity of type. Each herd needs to be carefully evaluated on its own merits; phenotypic comparison with old pictures and descriptions helps lend weight to the primitive nature of some herds together with a more continuous historical record. Hopefully in time DNA analysis will help to elucidate where the best remaining individuals occur and so foster a conservation programme.
It is therefore imperative to try and identify the herds where the best remaining examples of British Primitives still occur and that we establish and protect a secure gene pool of these iconic animals for the future.
References:
Greig J.C. (1969) ‘The Ecology of Feral Goats in Scotland’; MSc Thesis, University of Edinburgh
Hellawell T.C. (1993) ‘A species management plan for the feral goat population of Inversnaid RSPB reserve, Scotland. RSPB
Whitehead G.K. (1972) ‘The Wild Goats of Great Britain and Ireland’, David and Charles, Newton Abbot
The Cheviot Goat – Rare Breed and Native Breed at Risk
Three populations of feral goats exist in the Cheviot Hills – in and around Kielder Forest, at Otterburn and in and around the College Valley. The distinctions as to area are important given the differing recorded histories of the herds and some differences in phenotype. Only the College Valley population is currently recognised as a Rare Breed and Native Breed at Risk but that is not to say that the other herds are without merit.
The College Valley Population of Cheviot Goats
1. The Cheviot wild goat herd located at College Valley, Newton Tors and Yeavering Bell is an authentic remnant of Britain’s original landrace goat. This was the breed of goat that sustained people for centuries with its milk, meat, skin, hair and tallow prior to the drive for dairy goat improvement that began with the founding of the British Goat Society in 1879.
2. The herd has a documented history going back to at least 1860. It has been left as a completely wild herd with no intervention other than to reduce numbers periodically when there has been conflict with other land management practices in the area. It is not subject to any artificial selection by man.
3. There is good evidence of consistency of breed type over a long period.
4. There is a commitment by current landowners to maintain the herd but at the same time tensions sometimes arise with other interests and land management practices. Since 1998 Shirley and Les Goodyer (British Primitive Goat Research Group) have worked with the landowners and re-sited goats surplus to acceptable levels to conservation grazing projects and private breeders to try and safeguard as much of the gene pool as possible.
5. The population was accepted by DEFRA’s National Standing Committee for Farm Animal and Genetic Resources (FAnGR) in December 2010 and is listed as a Native Breed at Risk.
6. The Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) granted Rare Breed status in 2024 to the wild herd and any registered pure bred animals moved to other sites. This highlights the importance of conserving this ancient breed which is of historical and cultural value.
History
The goats have existed as a distinct population since at least 1860 when they were put out to replace an earlier unit of goats that had been removed elsewhere. Prior to the mid 1950s they were kept at very low numbers but since then have been allowed to build up to more sustainable levels. The herd constitutes one of the best known and oldest remaining examples of the British Primitive goat, the original landrace breed of our islands, which died out in domestication in the mid 20th century. Most feral units of goats in Britain have been, and still are, at risk of intensive culling and introgression with modern goat breeds. The College Valley herd is one that has remained intact and retained purity, so far as we can ascertain, and so provides an opportunity to act now to preserve our original British landrace breed. The unique historical documentation and antiquity compared to other feral herds is significant.
Their introduction to the area pre-dates the onset of stock ‘improvement’ for dairy purposes and the establishment of our current modern breeds. The origins could go back even further than this as it is not recorded if every goat in the locality had been removed before the 1860s introduction, and goats are known to have been present in the area well before this (e.g. the milking goats in the Cheviots described by Bailey and Culley in 1797). However, it is clear that the current goats match all the expected characteristics of our ancient primitive goat.
Legend maintains that the goats of the Cheviot Hills were let loose there by monks from the priory at Lindisfarne. When the monks became alarmed by the threat of Viking invasion, they retreated inland to Norham, Northumberland, in the 830s. Finally abandoning Lindisfarne altogether in 875, they moved on south taking St Cuthbert’s body with them to the eventual resting place in Durham but as they herded their livestock along the way the goats were too capricious and so were abandoned in the Cheviots. True or not, this is an evocative link with present day tourist use of the area where the current herd can be seen from St Cuthbert’s Way. The site provides easy opportunities for the public to see truly wild goats in an iconic landscape.
Local place names are indicative of our primitive goat breed being present in the locality for thousands of years where they must have been sufficiently abundant and/or valued for place names to become associated with them. Yeavering, as in Yeavering Bell, means the ‘hill of the goats’ and is the site of the largest Iron Age hill fort in Northumbria built around 2300 years ago. Ad Gefrin, the adjacent Anglo-Saxon township and palace of King Edwin of Northumbria, 7th century AD, has the roots of its name associated with goats (Celtic word for goat is gavr, pleural gevr, and hill is fryn or vrinn; these terms are believed to have been assembled/corrupted into Gefrin). There may have been a symbolic, mythological connection with goats; in archaeological excavations at Ad Gefrin a goat’s skull and ceremonial staff decorated with a goat motif have been discovered in one of the most significant Anglian burials there. If more goat remains are discovered, there are exciting possibilities of DNA comparison with the present day animals.
Charcteristics
While other colours typify the other herds of the Borders, grey or grey goats with white patterning are typically associated with the College Valley Cheviot herd and are the dominant colour forms although dark brown/black and dark pied goats are also found.
It is a hardy goat with a thick coat and a heavy amount of cashmere, being ideally suited to conservation grazing projects in a variety of habitats and able to utilise a wide range of forage types. Their feet are much harder than many modern goat breeds and generally do not require frequent trimming which is an advantage when being used for conservation grazing.
The Cheviot goat being an authentic remnant of our islands’ primitive landrace breed is therefore also a true representative of our original English/Old English goat. The present day breeds kept in domestication and called ‘English’ and ‘Old English’ are completely different to the Cheviot goat. Both of these are acknowledged to be made up of a mixture of breed types and unknown origin goats. Their respective breed societies have each attempted to recreate ‘look alike’ English goats but to rather different specifications being based around an ‘ideal type of English goat’ described from goats kept in domestication at different periods of time historically. Each of these new made-up breeds has aimed to retain a degree of milkiness, attained largely by having modern breeds enmeshed in their pedigrees. Neither type faithfully emulates the old British landrace goat/original English goat and they are far removed from being British Primitive. Certainly, both are clearly phenotypically distinct from the Cheviot goats.
Conservation Grazing
The value of Cheviot goats for conservation grazing projects has been trialled in various parts of Britain with success. If sufficient breeding units can eventually be secured alongside some of these projects it will help secure the long term future of the goats.
The goats are excellent for scrub control and will graze rougher vegetation less favoured by sheep and can be instrumental in helping control the spread of bracken. They can prove useful for grazing areas inaccessible to sheep.
Help preserve the Cheviot Goat
Given the history and long isolation of the College Valley Cheviot goats it is crucial that they are conserved and protected. These are the only example of British Primitive goats recognised as a Rare Breed by RBST and accepted as a Native Breed at Risk by DEFRA.
The British Primitive Goat Research Group provides annual census data to DEFRA for the FAnGR register and this includes the parent feral herd plus any pure bred Cheviot goats that have been moved to conservation grazing or private breeding projects around the country.
Please contact britishprimitivegoats@gmail.com if you can help maintain or increase numbers by keeping some of these goats. We are always happy to provide information and help you source suitable animals.
© British Primitive Goat Research Group
