THE Hebridean Sheep Society holds its national breed show at Leyburn auction mart next week.

Breeders from Holland, the Isle of Skye and all parts of the UK will descend on the town on Saturday and Sunday for their annual symposium and show.

On Saturday they will visit Gunnerside to see work being done by the Game Conservancy Trust, followed by an illustrated talk on the new Defra schemes. In the evening they will visit the Black Sheep Brewery in Mash-am, sponsors of the event, and Paul Theakston, from the brewery, will present the prizes after the show on Sunday. Judging begins at 10am.

The ancient and primitive black sheep was officially listed as a rare breed in the early Seventies but has enjoyed a dramatic revival, with numbers rising eight-fold in just ten years.

The breed originated in the Western Isles of Scotland and almost became extinct during the Highland clearances of the Nineteenth century. A few were saved as decorative parkland sheep for Victorian country estates in England, where it was known as the St Kilda sheep.

In the early Seventies the Rare Breeds Survival Trust took over responsibility for the breed and renamed it the Hebridean.

Over the centuries, Hebridean ewes have been selected for hardiness, ease of lambing, milkiness and good mothering instincts. Today, when extensification is the only viable option in many harsher regions, the breed has again found a role in commercial farming - hence the dramatic revival.

Flocks are now widespread throughout the UK and in 2003 the Hebridean came second to the Texel as the fastest growing breed in its native Scotland.

The lamb has a distinctive gamey flavour and is extremely lean. Producers are able to establish niche markets through box schemes and gourmet restaurants. Its wool is now also in demand for natural woollen products using undyed arn.

Hebrideans eat a wide variety of vegetation, yet can be selective grazers, withstand adverse weather and are light-footed. These qualities make them an exceptional tool for managing delicate ecosystems and preventing the deterioration caused by invasive plant species.

The sheep are used extensively in the management of lowland heaths, upland moors, sand dunes, salt marshes and chalk dales. They are famous for their ability to control invasive scrub birch and molinia (purple moor grass), both of which they graze in preference to heather.

In the North of England alone, flocks have been established by bodies such as English Nature on Holy Island; the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust on various sites; the Game Conservancy Trust at Gunnerside, and the Ministry of Defence at Strensall Common, near York.

At Skipwith Common, research by York University has shown that, since the introduction of Hebrideans, curlews and green woodpeckers have returned to breed and the number of breeding nightjars has more than doubled