The Van Rooy, also known as the Van Rooy White Persian, is a breed of

domestic sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...

native to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. The Van Rooy was first developed in 1906 by (and named for) J. C. van Rooy, a South African Senator and farmer in the

Bethulie Bethulie is a small sheep and cattle farming town in the Free State province of South Africa. The name meaning ''chosen by God'' was given by directors of a mission station in 1829 which the town formed around. The mission building is the oldest s ...

district. The Van Rooy is cross between indigenous

Ronderib Afrikaner The Afrikaner sheep (also known as ''Cape fat tail'') is a breed of fat tailed, hair sheep indigenous to South Africa. History Afrikaner sheep are one of the oldest native sheep breeds in South Africa, along with sheep such as the Damara, Blac ...

sheep, and Rambouillets. It is a

fat-tailed sheep The fat-tailed sheep is a general type of domestic sheep known for their distinctive large tails and hindquarters. Fat-tailed sheep breeds comprise approximately 25% of the world's sheep population, and are commonly found in northern parts of Af ...

and also a hair sheep, removing the need for shearing and crutching. They are generally kept for meat production, and are very well-suited to arid climates. Van Rooys are polled, have drooping ears, and are entirely white. The breed is relatively rare, even in South Africa, but has also been exported to

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

and

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

. In 1998, the first Van Rooy embryos were imported into Australia and rams have now been used as a foundation sires in White Dorper upgrading programs. Van Rooy genetics have also contributed to the development of the Australian White sheep breed.

References

External links

Van Rooy Sheep Breeders Association
Sheep breeds Sheep breeds originating in South Africa {{sheep-stub