North American Wensleydale Sheep Association (NAWSA)
The North American Wensleydale Sheep Association is a breed registry which oversees breed standards, breed up guidelines and pedigrees of North American Wensleydale sheep. Because this breed is in the process of being established here in the US and because you can not import these animals, our registry and breed up guidelines are very specific and have many rules. Having a bit of Wensleydale genetics in an animals background does not qualify it for Registration.
Established in 1999 by a handful of committed shepherds who established a protocol for re-creating the Wensleydale breed here in the United States and North America. The government place restrictions on the importation of live animals, and the only way to bring this wonderful breed here was to 'build' it.
The NAWSA has very specific guidelines for using blood percentages to breed up through five successive generations using imported frozen semen from UK Wensleydales. Each generation of offspring is given a percentage to track it's blood percentage when it is registered. This process takes a minimum of five generations and can also include using registered domestic rams after the first generation.
You can contact the NAWSA at info@wensleydalesheep.org or through any Board Member (find their contact info here).
Registry questions can frequently be answered by our Registrar Mountain Niche Registry NAWSA New Registrar:
Mountain Niche Registry
NAWSA PO Box 1497
Castle Rock, WA 98611
360-740-4667
Use the menu above to explore our Association, it's rules of the registry, breed up guidelines, learn more about the breed, find a breeder near you and download forms.
Please don't hesitate to contact any board member, or email us at info@wensleydalesheep.org with any questions.
