Valais Blacknose

The Valais Blacknose or known by its German name Walliser Schwarznasenscha is a breed of sheep originating in the Valais region of Switzerland. The breed originates in the mountains of the canton of Valais, from which its name derives, and of the Bernese Oberland. It is documented as far back as the fifteenth century, but the present German name was not used before 1884. In the past there was some cross-breeding with imported sheep, in the nineteenth century of Bergamasca and Cotswold stock, and in the twentieth century of the Southdown breed.