North American Shetland Sheepbreeders Association

Welcome to the NASSA website!

The mission of the North American Shetland Sheepbreeders Association is to preserve, promote, and protect the Shetland breed in its full diversity of colors, patterns, and fleece types.

Shetland sheep roots go back more than 1,000 years, probably to sheep brought to the Shetland Islands by Viking settlers. The North American Shetland Sheepbreeders Association, or NASSA, assists breeders of Shetlands in maintaining the purity and quality of this unique and colorful breed. NASSA provides registration and pedigree records for informed breeding decisions. If you are a current Shetland Sheep breeder, you’ll find resources on this page including NASSA forms and the breed standard.

If you are considering purchasing sheep, now is the time to take a closer look at the colorful Shetland sheep breed. Shetland wool is soft, fine, silky, and durable and a delight to spin, knit or crochet. Shetland sheep are considered a primitive or “unimproved” breed. This means that although they are small and relatively slow-growing, they maintain their natural hardiness, thriftiness, easy lambing, adaptability and longevity. Having retained most of their primitive survival instincts, Shetlands are easier to care for than many of the “improved” breeds seen today.

How to Buy a Shetland Sheep
Sample Bill of Sale

Use the navigation links above to find more information about NASSA and Shetland sheep. Our latest articles are shown below. Enjoy your visit!

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