Visit a heritage breed farm

Supporting endangered livestock

Just because you don't have enough land to own sheep or livestock guardian dogs doesn't mean there isn't much you can do.

1. Help spread the word - We all know about endangered wildlife, but not many think about the fact that there might be endangered livestock breeds as well. Tell others and get them interested. The Livestock Conservancy is a great resource.

2. Purchase products made from endangered livestock breeds - dairy products, meat, wool products, and so forth. Many Etsy sellers specialize in products made from the wool of endangered livestock. It may seem counter intuitive to eat the meat of an endangered breed, but purchasing this meat encourages farmers to focus on these breeds and increase their numbers. Something productive must be done with those animals who aren't the quality that should be used to continue these lineages. Most farmers who breed endangered livestock take exceptionally good care of them and ensure that they live excellent lives in happy and humane conditions. If you are going to eat meat, that is exactly the sort of meat worth eating.
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3. Ask your local farm to table restaurants to purchase heritage breed meat,eggs, and dairy products.Encourage your farmers market vendors to consider heritage breeds.

Our wool products and art

  Check out all the Shangri-baa products we've got available in our  store; your purchases support the farm. Consider gifts for yourself and others that you can feel good about!

The Livestock Conservancy

We reference The Livestock Conservancy all over this site for good reason - they are who introduced us to endangered livestock and helped us find breeds we wanted to focus on. They are an exceptional resource for anyone interested in the conservation of heritage breeds. If nothing else, you should go look at the pictures. 

​Heritage Breeds Podcast

The Heritage Breeds Podcast is a fun way to learn more about endangered livestock. Many of the episodes focus on specific breeds or exemplar farms, but here are some key episodes to get you started:
Introduction to Heritage Breeds
What are Heritage Breeds?
Heritage Breeds Week
Getting Started With Heritage Breeds