Lamb

The rearing of sheep in South-West France has undergone remarkable changes since the Revolution. Even from region to region the history of the sheep varies enormously. Until the coming of manmade fibres and cheaper materials, sheep were raised for their wool and huge flocks were sent up to the Aubrac each summer with the cattle to pasture on the high hills which were always lush and green even in the hottest months of the summer. The exodus of the shepherds and the flight of the population towards the towns had a negative influence on lamb production. In those years lamb was little esteemed for its table value. In the Périgord it was regarded as ‘black meat’ and looked on with something like scorn.