The Clun Forest in North America

In 1970, Tony Turner imported into Nova Scotia 40 Clun ewes and two rams from the Ray Williams flock in Shropshire. That effectively marks the beginning of the Clun Forest breed in North America. Progeny from that importation was first available to buyers in 1973. Since then Angus Rouse from Debert, Nova Scotia, imported a ram and four ewes from the Pen Y Wern flock (A.E. Williams & Son) in 1977, and then nine years later, he brought in two more rams and two ewes from the flock of Ivor Owens. These last sheep were released from quarantine in 1993.

In 1974, six breeders met in Harrisburg, PA, to organize the North American Clun Forest Association. Some of the first actions of the Association were intended to maintain and strengthen the traditional virtues of the breed: e.g., to keep breeders focused on the productive characteristics of the breed rather than a particular kind of appearance, no Cluns are permitted to be shown competitively. In the years since the founding of the NACFA, Cluns have quietly spread from Nova Scotia to British Columbia and from Vermont to Oregon. They've proved remarkably adaptable--to Minnesota's cold, to the desert heat of Utah, and to the constant humidity of Hawaii.

Because of their characteristic ease of lambing, mothering ability, lamb vitality, and eagerness to forage, Cluns are proving to be the breed, developed in the 18th and 19th century,, which is particularly suited for the grass-based livestock production systems of the 21st century.