Van Rooy sheep

{{Short description|Breed of sheep}}

The Van Rooy, also known as the Van Rooy White Persian, is a breed of domestic sheep native to South Africa. The Van Rooy was first developed in 1906 by (and named for) J. C. van Rooy, a South African Senator and farmer in the Bethulie district.{{cite web |url=http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/sheep/vanrooy/index.htm |title=Van Rooy |work=ansi.okstate.edu |publisher=Oklahoma State University Dept. of Animal Science }} The Van Rooy is cross between indigenous Ronderib Afrikaner sheep, and Rambouillets. It is a fat-tailed sheep and also a hair sheep, removing the need for shearing and crutching. They are generally kept for meat production, and are very well-suited to arid climates. Van Rooys are polled, have drooping ears, and are entirely white.{{cite book |title=FCS Animal Production L3 |year=2008 |publisher=Pearson South Africa |isbn= 978-1-77025-118-2 |pages=93–94 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=--ePX_q_DdQC }} The breed is relatively rare, even in South Africa, but has also been exported to Namibia and Zimbabwe.{{cite web |url=http://dad.fao.org/ |title=Domestic Animal Diversity Information System |publisher=FAO }}

In 1998, the first Van Rooy embryos were imported into Australia and rams have now been used as a foundation sires in White Dorper upgrading programs.{{cite web|title=Van Rooy Sheep|url=http://members.bordernet.com.au/~genelink/vrsheep.htm|work=Genelink|access-date=30 April 2011}} Van Rooy genetics have also contributed to the development of the Australian White sheep breed.{{cite web|title=Australian White Sheep|url=http://www.tattykeel.com.au/Breeds/AustralianWhite/AustralianWhiteDevelopment/tabid/1305/Default.aspx|publisher=The Australian White Sheep Breeders’ Association of Australia|access-date=4 May 2011}}