'Shetland sheep are perfect candidates for conservation grazing to manage and preserve threatened habitats including heath lands, chalk downs, unimproved meadows and pastures, to encourage the wildlife that they support. Without grazing, or some other kind of management, these habitats would revert to scrub and woodland and their biodiversity would be lost.
The breed is extremely hardy, self-sufficient, versatile foragers and thrive on low quality rough grassland and scrubland. They are browsers rather than just grazers and will eat regenerating scrub such as Birch. They do not need large amounts of expensive concentrates during the winter months and are easy to handle and manage. They are good attentive mothers and can lamb outside with little need for intervention.
Their fine-boned build and small feet mean that they do less damage to grasses and meadow plants than heavier breeds.