Herdwick a "smit") of marking sheep for ownership. Before chemical dyes became available, this dye was made from either iron ore or graphite mixed with grease. For many years the legal method of identifying a particular shepherd's sheep were notches cut out of a sheep's ear, called "lug" marks—now replaced by ear tags. Herdwick The Herdwick is a breed of domestic sheep native to the Lake District of Cumbria in North West England. The name "Herdwick" is derived from the Old Norse "herdvyck", meaning sheep pasture. Though low in lambing capacity and perceived wool quality when compared to more common commercial
Ear tag the Articles of Incorporation, as an association animal and breed identification, of the improved Chester White. Although ear tags were developed in Canada as early as 1913 as a means to identify cattle when testing for tuberculosis, the significant increase of use of ear tags appeared with the outbreak of BSE in UK. Today, ear tags in a variety of designs are used throughout the world on many species of animal to ensure traceability, to help prevent theft and to control disease outbreaks. The first ear tags were primarily steel with nickel plating. After World War II, larger, flag-like, plastic