British Soay Sheep
Soay are a small, ancient Scottish breed, a remnant population of a Neolithic sheep that has survived on the islands of St. Kilda fifty miles off the coast of Scotland in the North Atlantic for several thousand years. It is the most primitive (closest to its wild ancestor) breed of domestic sheep. It still lives feral in its isolated homeland. In the late nineteenth century a few Soay were taken off St. Kilda to the mainland and in 1963 twenty four were taken to Scotland and England for study. A few eventually made their way to America, one small group in 1974 and a second in 1990.
The term British Soay refers to the latter, a specific group of sheep which descended from six British registered animals exported from England to Montreal, Canada on January 10, 1990. All of their surviving progeny were imported into the US between 1998 and 2000.
All British Soay are registered (birth notified) with the Combined Flock Book of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) in Great Britain, hence their name. The Combined Flock Book, Rare Breeds Survival Trust, UK is the sole official registry of British soay sheep and is recognized internationally. Animals not registered with the RBST are not British Soay. The RBST only recognizes 100% parentage; both parents must be registered to register their lambs. Because of the animals’ membership in the Trust's Combined Flock Book they are reciprocal with Soay in Britain and are part of a global conservation program.* This has enabled one of our members to work with a breeder in the UK and eventually import semen to widen the existing limited gene pool.
The term British Soay is used only in the US and Canada to distinguish these sheep from North American Soay which originated in the United States and are not recognized by the RBST. Unlike the British Soay, North American Soay are a hybrid of Soay from St. Kilda and a variety of American breeds of sheep. American Soay are not part of the RBST Conservation program.
As members of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, we seek to manage our sheep following Trust guidelines. All of us are dedicated to British Soay sheep conservation in America. 
*"Any Soay sheep registered with the Combined Flock Book, wherever in the world they are, is considered true Soay and if registered Soay were to come back to the UK it would be fully eligible to remain in the Combined Flock Book, and its progeny allowed full registration." Letter of Reciprocity to ALBC from the Soay Sheep Society Friends of the Soay and Boreray, Rare Breeds Survival Trust (UK) 28 June 2004.