Sheep

Old Spæl Sheep
Old Spæl stems from Old Norse, on which today’s spæl (short-tailed) breeds were based. Please refer to the previous section.
Old Spæl and the modern-day spæl breeds have more or less the same breeding history until around 1950. Since then, the so-called modern Spæl sheep were bred for colour uniformity and polledness, and with more emphasis on size and meatiness than on wool quality.
Old Spæl was not officially recognised as a distinct breed until 2002, although the breed has had committed supporters since the 1950s. These enthusiasts have tried to minimise crossbreeding with Old Norse or modern spæl sheep in order to maintain the old spæl type.