Due to an increase of demand in pedigree Icelandic sheep, a breed of primitive sheep, Harrison and Hetherington have announced that they will be holding, for the first time ever, a timed online auction.

The sale will run from Thursday September 2, to Saturday September 4, 2021 and entries will be available to view in advance of the sale from Friday August 27.

The small selective sale will witness one ewe, two gimmers, three ewe lambs, three shearlings, six ram lambs and two wethers come under the hammer.

Icelandic Sheep are in the region of 300 in the UK, are medium sized and fine boned, their naturally short tail and their ability to thrive off grass are great selling points. The breed still has its double coat of tog and thel, producing fantastic fleeces which come in a variety of colours, the wool is very much sought after for its natural properties and can go for considerable value.

Grant Anderson, auctioneer at Harrison and Hetherington said: “In the past our Icelandic Sheep sales have been held as part of our wider rare breeds sales, and in holding an online sale, the aim is to open the breed up to a broader UK wide audience. This is a breed which is certainly seeing an increased demand and for those interested in purchasing stock, members of the ISBOBI have reported lambs born in April, averaging around 4kg, have achieved weights in July ranging from 28kg to 37kg off grass.”

Ruth Stanton, assistant secretary of ISBOBI added: “We are very excited indeed about the upcoming auction. In recent years there has been so much interest in Icelandic Sheep, it has completely spiralled. The aim of this auction is to help provide us with a measure as to what is happening as well as a benchmark for the breed.”