From Saudi Arabia to the Anglesey Show: The Story of Damara Lamb

On the green pastures of Anglesey, a breed of sheep that is most familiar with the rugged landscapes of Africa and the Middle East is quickly making it’s mark. The Damara, an impressive long-tailed sheep renowned for producing low-fat meat with a unique flavour, is now part of a pioneering farming initiative that offers the opportunity to develop a new market for Welsh lamb.

For Peter Williams, a farmer and member of the Farmers' Union of Wales’ Executive Committee on Anglesey, this story has been in the pipeline for decades. Peter first came across the Damara working as a shepherd on a 30,000-sheep farm near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in the late 1980s and 1990s. He was deeply impressed by the resilience of the breed and its ability to thrive in extreme conditions, and since then he wondered whether it would be possible to establish the breed in Wales.

In 2019, there came an opportunity to make the idea a reality when Peter joined his co-farmer, Bedwyr Jones, and Tricia Sutton, a former government veterinarian. Almost £40,000 in total was secured through EIP Wales, as part of the Welsh Government Rural Communities’ Rural Development Programme, to explore the potential of the breed and its suitability for conditions in Wales.

Establishing the herd was not an easy task. Embryos and semen were imported from New South Wales, Australia, following a lengthy and arduous regulation and consent process. With the help of Geraint Hughes, an innovation broker, and Ian McDougail, a veterinary specialist from Farmgene, the embryos were implanted and ewes were artificially fertilised.

The first results were extremely encouraging. Six pure Damara lambs were born in the first season - three rams and three ewes – along with around 75 cross-bred lambs from Texel, Lleyn and Romney ewes. The artificial insemination rate reached around 75%, while the lambs were lively at birth, keen to suckle and growing well.

But perhaps the biggest test was seeing how the breed would cope with the Welsh climate. Although the Damara is mainly associated with hot, dry countries, the lambs have adapted well to the wet and varied conditions of Anglesey.

The Damara is an extremely resilient breed. It originated in Asia and Egypt before becoming established in southern Africa, and it was specifically developed by nomadic communities in Namibia who reared the sheep for meat and hides. It’s a prudent grazer that can make effective use of lower quality feed, and it is well known or its resistance to many diseases and parasites.

One of the breed’s most striking characteristics is, of course, its fat tail. The Damara stores much of its energy as fat in the tail. However, the meat is known for being low in fat and having a unique flavour - a combination that makes it particularly interesting for specialist markets.

That taste has already gathered support across Wales and beyond. At this year’s Anglesey Show, those who visited the FUW stand had the opportunity to sample Damara lamb, and discover what makes it different from traditional lamb.

The prestige and appeal of the lamb has now extended to professional kitchens, with the product being used by chefs such as Tomos Parry from Michelin-star restaurant Mountain in London, and being served in the well-known Ynyshir restaurant near Machynlleth.

The profile of Damara Môn has also continued to grow, not only among customers but also in the media. The initiative featured on Chris Roberts’ Flaming Feasts programme on BBC One, giving a wider audience the opportunity to learn about the innovative story behind this unique lamb. Earlier in 2026, the Damara Môn Lamb Shoulder also received Two Stars at the Great Taste Awards – a notable recognition of the quality and taste of the meat, and a further indication of the growing appeal and prestige of this pioneering product.

From Peter Williams’s experience thousands of miles away in Saudi Arabia, to establishing the first Damara flock in Wales, it has been long and innovative journey – but one that has seen Damara Môn rapidly making a name for itself. From the pastures of Anglesey fields to plates across the UK, there is no doubt that this fat-tailed lamb is going from strength to strength.