These shepherds maintain rare, hardy, and hardy native sheep breeds that are perfectly adapted to life on barren heathlands, salt marshes, riverbanks, and dunes.
The sheep graze vegetation short (primarily grass, young growth of trees and shrubs), trampling it down, thus keeping heathlands, grasslands, and flower-rich areas open.
This is crucial for biodiversity: many rare plants, butterflies, bees, and meadow birds benefit.
The shepherd often moves with a flock of 200–600 sheep, sometimes accompanied by one or two sheepdogs (e.g., a Border Collie or Dutch Shepherd).
The work is seasonal: often outdoors day and night in the summer (with a shepherd's wagon), and in the winter in stables or sheltered areas.
Many shepherds do this work for nature organizations such as Natuurmonumenten, Staatsbosbeheer (State Forestry Service), or provincial landscape organizations.
In short: a traditional, physically demanding, yet romantic profession that combines ancient breeds, traditional knowledge, and nature conservation.
In the Netherlands, there are only a few hundred professional sheep herders with these ancient breeds left.
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