GREYFACE and Whiteface Dartmoor sheep have been given special status and will not be automatically slaughtered if they are within a foot and mouth zone in future.
The new list of 30 rare breeds of sheep and goats now exempt from MAFF regulations, even if they are on land adjacent to infected stock, comes too late for Lewdown farmer Cedric Warren, who lost two-thirds of his endangered Greyface flock in a contiguous cull about six weeks ago.
It was welcome news, however, for 'very relieved' William Dawe of Lamerton, who has one of the oldest Greyface flocks in the country. 'It's good news that the breed will be rather more protected,' he said.
'The breed is small in number and has unique qualities. In the Tavistock area are four of the oldest 'closed' flocks as far as breeding goes, having unique bloodlines. It would have been a severe blow if they had all been lost.
'Fortunately stock has been sold outside Devon, so the breed is quite widely dispersed,' Mr Dawe added.
A gene bank for Greyfaces is being established at York University, and semen was collected at the start of the foot and mouth outbreak to protect the breed.
Wilson Mitchell, the breed secretary, confirmed that nationally five of the 100 flocks of Greyfaces had been culled, although none had had the disease, and five more were still challenging contiguous cull decisions.
The Rare Breed Survival Trust will work with the Dartmoor breeders to ensure that local officials have all the necessary information to stop the slaughter of protected animals.
Whitefaces are more concentrated in Devon with fewer flocks elsewhere, so although they are not in the same endangered category as the greyfaces the foot and mouth outbreak in Devon may pose a greater threat to them.