Fencing To Help Hefted Sheep

Foot-and-mouth culling has destroyed more than half of all the traditional Herdwick sheep in the area and devastated other local breeds such as the Rough Fell and Swaledale.

As if that were not enough, such breeds will be hard to replace because they are " hefted".

Hefted, or heafed, sheep are able to survive the harsh conditions in upland areas because of a special knowledge of their particular area passed down through the ewes from generation to generation.

Without the hefting instinct even hardy breeds such as the Herdwick would perish in the winter conditions on the fells.

Tony Temple, from Black Hall Farm in Seathwaite, lost around 2,000 Herdwicks to the slaughtermen in March.

Only a handful of sheep wintering away survived, but they are not enough to repopulate the 2,600 acre farm.

The new Herdwicks which Tony has already bought will not be heafed.

The hope is now that with the help of his landlord, the National Trust, putting electric fences between Hardknott Pass, running north of the Wrynose/Hardknott Road, to Wrynose Pass, will keep the new sheep on the heaf so that, in perhaps four or five years, subsequent generations will become hefted.

"The fence is the most important thing because without it they will just wander off," said Mr Temple.

"We cannot just buy sheep in and let them out onto the fells - if we cannot re-heft them we have nothing."

Mr Temple said the line of sheep which was lost to foot-and-mouth had grazed the fells there for 800 years.

Although he has tried other breeds, none could cope with the conditions.

"If we cannot get the Herdwicks re-hefted it could be the end of sheep farming here," he said.

Time is of the essence because the ewes will need to be on the farm and put to the tup soon if the process is to begin with next year's lambs.

DEFRA has yet to provide Mr Temple with a restocking plan and he has not been issued with licences to move his new stock or bring home the surviving members from the original flock.

Several farmers on Ulpha Common could also see electric fences used to re-heaf their flocks if the secretary of state gives permission to put them on common land.

Traditionally, shepherds would have kept sheep to their heafs until they stayed of their own accord.

But, as John Metcalfe, the National Trust's farm and countryside officer, said: "Trying to re-establish heafing now among new stock using labour alone is simply not feasible.

"We are looking at using shepherding to re-establish the heafs but it would not allow us to do it as quickly as electric fencing.

We are not saying it is the best way, but it is the quickest way of getting them back on the fell."

Mr Metcalfe stressed that the grazing of hefted flocks over hundreds of years had produced the distinctive look of the fells, and without it, the Lake District landscape loved by millions would deteriorate.

He said the fences, which deliver only a very small electric shock, were not to keep the public out and that the trust would provide stiles to allow public access and even special stiles to let dogs through.

There would also be information boards to explain why the fences were there.

Aesthetically, he said, the fence had been designed to blend in unobtrusively, minimising the visual impact.

National Park Officer Paul Tiplady said: "We need to be assured that the public is not going to be walking into it and get an electric shock, albeit a small one, and that people still have access to footpaths and open access land.

As long as we can get that we think it is a good temporary solution to the problem."

Ian Brodie of Friends of the Lake District said he was seeking answers from the National Trust on issues about public safety and access, and as to whether the fencing would actually result in re-hefting.

"We are trying to support the National Trust in re-heafing the sheep, it is an important part of the Lake District landscape which we want to see re-established and we are trying to make sure all the relevant

factors are taken into account," he said.