The previous record that dates back to 2009 for a lamb was £231,000. Wait until you read what made this new one sell for over 1.5 times the previous one.
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Although a lambda lamb normally costs around £100, the opening bid for this Texel lamb, however, was set at £10,500 on Thursday 27th August in Lanark, Scotland. Originally from the Netherlands, the Texel breed is actually very popular in the United Kingdom and around 1/3 of all British lambs come from a male of this species.
Particularly remarkable, this 6-month-old lamb called Double Diamond was a big hit at the auction among the breeders. Why? It is considered genetically perfect from a breeding point of view: ‘the hair, the colour, the shape of the head’ all make Double Diamond a truly exceptional lamb.
The lamb was sold on behalf of several farms associated with a breeder named Charlie Boden. Now a star lamb, Double Diamond will travel the world and be put on display at agricultural fairs so people can witness its perfection. Then, it will most likely become a high-standing breeding ram - a sheep is considered a lamb until it is 12 months old.
This is enough reason to justify such an incredibly high price, since this lamb is a very long-term investment for this group of breeders. The seller obviously wasn’t expecting such a hefty sum of course: ‘I knew it was a good one, but I didn’t think it would make that price.’ Nineteen lambs were sold during this auction and, as is tradition, were all sold in guineas.
You can go ahead and keep this piece of news for the next time you want to tell a quick fun fact while at a boring dinner party. You're welcome.
