Texel and the Texel sheep are inextricably linked. Sheep have walked the island for many hundreds of years, where sheep cheese and wool were once the main export products. Texelaars are proud of the landscape shaped by sheep farming. Tourists also enjoy this landscape, and the many lambs in spring. Texel lamb is a unique, local product. It has been called the finest lamb in the world. Yet for some, it is not a nice idea: why is a large proportion of those cute lambs we love to look at being eaten?

What happens to Texel lambs?

Every spring, thousands of lambs are born on Texel. Some stay with the farmer, some are sold on to other farmers for breeding - the Texel is a popular breed worldwide! The remainder is used for lamb.

No sheep island without lamb

It may sound contradictory, but if there was no lamb, there would soon be virtually no sheep farmer left. After all, wool and sheep's cheese do not earn the farmer enough. Without our sheep farmers, the Texel landscape would change drastically. Sheepfolds and gullies would no longer have any function. Just like the tuunwallen, which are not useful for arable farming. Besides, sheep need a lot of living space. The peace and space that people and animals find on the island are partly due to this ‘sheep landscape’ and would disappear if sheep farming were to shrink even further.

Small-scale and pure nature

Star chef Jef Schuur says that even vegetarians and pescotarians enjoy the Texel lamb at his restaurant Bij Jef. ‘This is how it should be everywhere. Small-scale, pure nature. The quality of life is high for these animals. No mega-stalls or mass production on Texel. Lambs are slaughtered when they are three to 12 months old. So on average, they become three to four times as old as a chicken. Every Texel sheep lives outside and has space. They don't just eat English ryegrass, as you often see in the rest of the Netherlands. Farmers here ensure biodiversity on their land. The sheep walk on a variety of grasses and herbs. That also makes the meat tastier. Delicate in flavour. Really different.’

Animal welfare and taste

‘There are no shorter lines,’ explains Hans Zijm of Slagerij Goënga. ‘On Texel, animals are taken early in the morning to the small-scale slaughterhouse in Oudeschild, where they are slaughtered an hour later. They then have no long transports or waiting times behind them. This benefits animal welfare and taste. There is no more Texel product than lamb.’

The beautiful Texel picture

Sheep farmer Jan-Willem of De Waddel sheep farm says: ‘We follow the natural cycle of our animals and move with the seasons. The lambs grow up with their mothers and grow up on mother's milk.’ Eating local meat is also much better for the environment. ‘A lot of lamb in the Netherlands is imported from abroad. Just let people buy our Texel lamb, then we have a living and the beautiful Texel picture with sheep remains.’

Fewer and fewer sheep on Texel

Anyone who visits Texel often may have noticed that fewer and fewer sheep live on the island. Years ago there were around 14,000, now there are 10,000. Vereniging Schapeneiland Texel was founded for ‘the preservation of sheep/lamb in the meadows, on the dikes and in the nature reserves’. But keeping sheep is expensive. There is little land and agriculture yields more. Ageing also plays a role and farmers find it difficult to find successors. Texel needs about 15,000 sheep to keep the slaughterhouse profitable and the next few years will show whether this is still possible.

This is how you can help

If you come to the island and eat lamb, you can help maintain the balance. There are also Texel butchers who sell the meat online and arrange for it to be delivered to your home or restaurant kitchen. Do you prefer not to eat meat anyway? Several farm shops also sell sheep's cheese and wool products.

More about the sheep on Texel