Shetland’s kye: A breed fae da past wi a plaess idda future?

Da idder day a bison whaig calf wis boarn idda Coonty o Kent ithin England. His midder coo is pairt o a herd o European bison rinnin louse in whit’s caaed a ‘Rewilding Project’. Dis notion is comin tae be popular wi fokk at haes a lok o laand an money, an a careen fir da environment. Dey want tae see whit happens if you jüst lat Naiter tak ower an man bides oot o it. Some idder projects is shaain remarkable ootcomes wi nightingales an turtle doves comin back til ancient haems. Firbye dem de’r aa kind o butterflees an idder flees an plants at fokk tocht wis geen an ir noo seein dem agein. Da European bison is onnli fun in twartree pairts ithin Aestern Europe. Dis laand o tick forests cam tae be da hindmaist haem o da ‘auroch’ – da forebear o aa moadren kye as weel as wir ain Shetland Kye.

Little is maed nooadays o wir kye. Der bøn shivved til da aidge o extinction bi agricultural fashion, fül tinkeen an supermarket demands. Da kye fed an kled an peyed da rents o ginerations o Shetlander fairmers aa trowe mans keneen. Fae rivleens til looderhoarns til da butter at fokk peyed dir rents in.

Whit cam at dem? An whit cam o dem? An whit wye sud dey maitter til wis?

Archaeologists kloorin idda aert can tell wis at kye is bøn here fir mair ir 4,000 year. Analysis o dir banes shaas a intriguin history. Da airli kye wis graet, staandin as heich as oni moadren Charolais. Dan ower da centuries dey cam tae be peerier an peerier till bi da Iron Age dey stüd aboot fower fit at da shooder. Scientists can tell wis at da stress rings ati dir teeth shaas at da baess siffered year bi year wi fantation. Da tocht is at as time güd by da baess at lived wis da peerier eens. Dey wid a bøn aisier tae haandle an aisier tae fin enyoch yül maet fir. Alang wi da wadder an da laand itsel Shetland’s first fairmers maed dir mark. Dey needit kye at cud gie fleish an mylk an at dey cud wirk wi.

Fae da Iron Age til da late 1800s da kye aaltert little i dir size. Dis is a amazin span o time fir a breed tae cheinge herdli oni. Nae doot da kye cam tae be mair an mair whit man socht fir dir needs.

Da traed ithin saat fysh at dis time brocht a graet cheinge in hoo da lairds maed profit oot o dir laand an tenantry. Dey needit mair men tae sail an fysh fir dem. Mair fysh meant mair profit. As de cam tae be mair fokk livin apø less an less laand dey wid a socht hoose coos ridder ir coos at beid dida scattalds. Ivvri hoose wid a haed ee mylkeen coo at laest; firbye dat de wid a bøn a whaig an a calf. As whit cam tae be caaed crofts wis spleet up tae mak room fir mair faimilies da baess haed a herder an herder time o it. Prosperity fir da lairds brocht wi it poaverti fir man an baess an laand. Da hills wis aetin herd doon an aa kind o animals haed a strug laek nivver afore. Wi da start o emigration til da New Wirld cam a aisment apø da baess. Less an less fokk meant less an less baess. Dan cam da age o agricultural improvement whin new idees startit tae be da neest pressure.

Bi da start o da 20t century da wirld wis cheingin an new breeds o kye cam til da islands, a lok graeter in size, an whit industrial Britain wid pey money fir. Da Cumberland Shorthoarn an da Black Poll cam tae be whit da trang crofters man be wirkin wi.

In 1910 a mird o fokk cam tagidder tae set up da Shetland Cattle Herd Book Society tae mak sure at fokk keepit on wi dir ain Shetland baess. Hit wis a remarkable boadi o fokk wi aathin fae da lairds til da peeriest crofters laek wir ain Midder an Daa wi dir eicht acres idda Fair Isle. Fir dem da oxes wis dir tractors firbye whit dey got i mylk an fleish. Dey could see whit wis gyaan tae happen. Dey wir gyaan tae loss da very baess at wis keepit dem livin. Fokk danadays kent at dey haed somethin wirt haddin on til. Da First War pat peyed til dis pragmatic patriotism. Bi da time at fokk wis comin at efter da blüdspring o da First War, dan started dey dem anidder war. Da chance wis geen. Shetland Kye wis tocht tae a haed dir day an da numbers fell awa laek weet snaa idda sun.

At dir historical maist de wir tocht tae be aboot 40-50,000 heid o kye idda isles. Naen wid a believed at da 20t century wi aa hits progress cud wirk sic dirt - bi 1981 de wir 27 coos an 4 bulls til da fore!

In 1981 de cam anidder boadi o crofters tae braithe life atidda New Foundation Herd Book. Tae begin wi hit didna need moni laefs atween its brodds. De wir mair fokk at peyed dir memberships ir de wir baess.

Dis wis da Oil Time an da Cooncil haed money tae invest ithin Shetland an at dat time whit dey proodli caaed da tradeetional industries. A peyment o a £100 fir ivvri pure bred calf wis offert an da sam fir keepin a bull. Dis maed a graet odds fir da score o crofters at kent whit folli hit wid be tae loss da kye firivver. By an by da Cooncil tøk awa da peyment whin dey betocht demsels aboot pittin money in atil tradeetional industries at wirna baessed on steel an concrete. Dis wis graet folli an time’ll tell.

Hoosumivver da kye an da kye fokk aa hae vim an ir no aisi affpitten. So noo de’r by 200 baess. Far less ir da rarest o Bengal tigers or Chinese pandas. Dey git nae help fae onieen an ir keepit bi fokk at ken whit dey can dø.

Da Shetland Cattle Herd Book Society is luckit fokk tae fin oot mair aboot whit maks dem differ. Daily liveweicht gain trials shaaed at da calfs growes faar quicker ir moadren breeds. Hit wis ey tocht at dis speecial abeelity wis doon til da quaantiti o coos mylk bit whin da Society cam on new science dey waantit tae fin oot mair. Dis led til analysis o dir fatty acids an minerals. Dis shaaed at da peerie Shetland baess wis keepit da healty features o wild deer. Hit wis whit wis atidda mylk at wis speecial. Laek wild deer at ey look pør an ithoot oni appearance o a yudder dir mylk wis foo o healty fats an minerals no fun noo. Nivver turn yir neb up at whit 4,000 year is taen tae mak. Noo at fokk is lairnin whit da dictators o da wirld can dø wi invadin idder countries an hinderin fokk fae buyin dir coarn. An dat‘s firbye da graetest deinger o dem aa – climate cheinge. Whar’ll dir fancy kye be whin you canna buy oil-baessed fertiliser an foreign wheat an soya mell?