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'World's smallest sheep' from Eynsford, Dartford entered for Guinness World Records

00:01, 25 April 2015

Ewe better baa-lieve it – a rare breed sheep born in a small village near Dartford is expected to be crowned the world’s tiniest.

Guinness World Records will head to Eynsford within the next few weeks to measure up the two-year-old Oussant sheep now she has reached maturity.

Standing at a wee 14 inches – two inches less than the height of a newspaper – she is believed to be two inches smaller than the current titleholder.

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The unnamed Ouessant sheep is expected to be crowned the world's smallest in the next few weeks
The unnamed Ouessant sheep is expected to be crowned the world's smallest in the next few weeks

Wayne May, owner of Artisan Rarebreeds who look after a number of extraordinary animals, is confident that he will secure the record.

He said: “It’s going to be amazing for the village and a real accolade to everybody who works with us.

“We sort of knew half way through last year that they just weren’t growing to the same height as the other sheep.

“But we’ve really been looking forward this year to measure them ourselves to see if they qualify and to us they seem to be well within the remit to make it into the Guinness Book of World Records.”

Is this the world's smallest sheep? Video report by Ben Kennedy and Harry Peet

The potentially record-breaking ewe, who weighed a mere 13 oz when she was born, also has a bite-size brother – who stands just two inches taller than her sister matching the current record-holding sheep.

Ouessant sheep are naturally one of the world’s smallest breeds, originating from the isle of Ushant near Brittany, France.

“They used to support the islanders as the sole species on the island up to about the early 1970s,” Wayne said.

Artisan Rarebreeds have been keeping these kinds of sheep for the past 10 years, but Wayne and his team have never seen ones so tiny.

The record-breaking ewe (left) also has a brother just two inches taller
The record-breaking ewe (left) also has a brother just two inches taller

However, their unique size isn’t thought to be causing them any difficulties.

“She’s 100% healthy,” said Wayne. “We’ve done vet checks on her to make sure that there’s no malformation and to make sure that the breed itself is okay and that they’re perfectly healthy sheep.”

The b-ewe-tiful pair will be named at a fundraising event by children from local schools in the next few weeks.

The male Ouessant isn't much bigger than the bucket he eats from!
The male Ouessant isn't much bigger than the bucket he eats from!

Artisan Rarebreeds specialises in caring for rare breed animals from across the globe. It also rescues wild, domestic, and marine animals from across the county.

Wayne and his team has had experience in looking after seals, hedghogs, woodpeckers, badgers, and even a cheetah.

The charity is publicly funded and relies solely on donations. For more information on its work and to donate, visit www.artisanrarebreeds.org

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