The Origins of Valais Blacknose Australia Ltd
Valais Blacknose Australia Ltd has its origins in southern Victoria. In 2017 Belinda Cardinal and Tony Urek began what became a long and arduous journey to bring ‘the cutest sheep in the world’ to Australia. Purchasing their first stock in the UK and applying for permits and approvals in early 2018. The first tanks of frozen embryos and semen arrived in October 2020 with the first F1 (50%) lambs born at Epridell farm in March 2021.
The very first pure Valais Blacknose lambs in Australia were born a month later in April 2021, at Belinda and Tony’s Omazel stud in Victoria.
In 2022 the UK government moved the goalposts, and it seemed that further imports would be out of the question. However, Belinda spent a year working with the Australian and UK government agencies and we are very happy to say she successfully got things back on track.
Since then, many other breeders have been able to import Valais Blacknose genetics into Australia without that same degree of difficulty. So it is true to say that Belinda and Tony, through their hard work and persistence, truly opened the door for this breed to come to Australia.
Club? Society? Association?
Belinda and Tony also began the very first Valais Blacknose Breed Society in Australia under the umbrella of their existing business. They called it Valais Blacknose Australia and it functioned as the only society, club, or association for the registration of Valais Blacknose Sheep in Australia. As with any breed society, Valais Blacknose Australia started small, but from those humble beginnings, it has now grown into a fully-fledged company representing Valais Blacknose Breeders from all over the country. Regardless of what we’re called we are the original, and currently the largest organisation supporting and registering Valais Blacknose Sheep in Australia.
Who We Are
The Valais Blacknose Australia Ltd membership is made up of like-minded individuals interested in furthering the success of the Valais Blacknose breed in Australia. Despite being the first, and currently the largest, Valais Blacknose sheep organisation in Australia, we are an inclusive group that supports one another and assists in the development of both breeders and the breed. Every Valais Blacknose sheep matters to us and we support every Valais Blacknose enthusiast from those with a single pet wether, to our larger breeders, those importing genetics, and even people who love the breed but don’t have any sheep yet.
What We Do
Members are kept informed about the progress of the Valais Blacknose breed in Australia and any information regarding known new imports and availability of stock. Support is provided through advice, education and community. We also offer our members access to our fully DNA-verified breed registry and associated pedigree records. With a background in genetics, DNA is very important to Belinda and was a fundamental principle in the founding of Valais Blacknose Australia, a principle that has grown with us and remains a cornerstone of what we believe in and are striving to achieve.
Full Membership provides all support and information, access to the breed registry including sheep registration, pedigree certificates, listing of stock for sale on our website, and access to our members-only Facebook group. To qualify for full membership, a member should be actively breeding and registering stock each year with Valais Blacknose Australia Ltd.
But I Don’t Have Any Valais Blacknose Sheep Yet
Associate Membership is available to anyone interested in Valais Blacknose Sheep in Australia. This membership provides updates and information about the breed, access to the members-only Facebook group, and may be of interest to people who are looking into becoming a breeder, or who may wish to own Valais Blacknose Sheep but not breed them.
Join Valais Blacknose Australia Ltd
So if you have a passion for the cutest sheep in the world and are looking for a society or organisation to support that interest, why not Contact us for more information or click here to apply for membership?
