The last of the 'Celts cow' herd in Scotland as breed moved to 'priority' list

The white park cattle of Lennoxlove Estate are the only pedigree herd of their kind north of the border. Known as the Cadzow herd, they are one of just four officially recognised ‘heritage herds’ in the UK, with bloodlines stretching back centuries.

Ancestors of the long-horned breed are thought to have accompanied the Celts as they were pushed to Britain’s fringes by the Romans.

Read more: How the humble, but much-maligned cow is now saving Scotland's natural landscape

Owned by the Duke of Hamilton, the animals have been safeguarded by the family for generations. Yet despite their historic role in sustaining human communities, the striking cattle — with their distinctive white coats and dark points — have been designated as urgently at risk by a conservation charity.

Publishing its 2026 watchlist this week, the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) moved white park cattle into its “priority” category after new calf registrations fell last year to less than two-thirds of their 2022 level.

According to data from the White Park Cattle Society (WPCS), there are some 1,800 of the animals left in the UK.

At Lennoxlove, around 70 to 80 animals make up the wider herd at any given time — calves, yearlings, bulls — but just 23 breeding cows sustain it.

Alec Bark, the farm manager, said one of the main challenges keeping such a rare herd is the breed’s limited population in the UK and worldwide.

“It would be great if more people kept them,” he said.

“The more white parks about the better. We can struggle with bloodlines because there is so little DNA and so few bulls involved.

“I have two bulls for a small number of cows, which can be a challenge. Even if three or four more people had them it would help.”

Mr Bark said the breed’s decline reflects a broader shift in British farming, where efficiency steadily displaced older, slower-growing animals. Compared with more widely used beef breeds such as aberdeen angus, white parks take around six months longer to reach market weight.

“The beef is just as good as anything,” he said, “but it’s not what the market is really looking for.”

The rare breed’s strengths, however, lie beyond conventional beef production. The WPCS said many of its members use the cattle for conservation grazing. Native breeds, including Belted Galloway, Luing and Highland cattle are being increasingly used across Scotland in nature restoration projects led by individual landowners and organisations, including the National Trust for Scotland and the RSPB. Hardy and adaptable, they thrive on rough grazing and require little intervention. White parks are no different.

“You have no issue outwintering them,” Mr Bark said. “They can deal with most conditions that the British weather throws at them.”

The farmer said there has been interest in introducing the Cadzow herd to rewilding initiatives in Scotland.

In historical texts, white parks were sometimes referred to as ‘White Forest’, as to reflect the breed’s association with remote wooded areas of Britain where they were often found roaming.

Today, there exists a totally wild herd of the beasts just over the border in Chillingham, Northumberland, which are completely untamed, receive no veterinary treatment and have never been touched by human hand.

Mr Bark spoke about how the breed requires little to no input compared to other cattle raised on the farm.

However, given the herd’s location and the high number of walkers and mountain bikers in the area, he said the white parks are regularly fed barley to encourage familiarity with human contact and help them become accustomed to the public.

“They are a relatively casual beasts, but that can change a little for some of them when they drop a calf, so we give them a bit more than they probably need just to keep up that human contact as we get a lot of people walking the woods around here,” he said.

Mr Bark encouraged farmers in more upland areas to consider the breed given the terrain would suit them more than the flatter plains of East Lothian.

“Up near the Highlands and islands, the cattle would be even better suited there because they have the ground to travel and the ground has a bit more bone to it,” he said.

It has been just over a year since Mr Bark took over management of the Cadzow herd from former farm manager Keith Stuart, who kept the cattle on behalf of successive Dukes of Hamilton for four decades. The current holder of the title, Alexander Douglas-Hamilton, succeeded his father, Angus Douglas-Hamilton, in 2010 and resides at Lennoxlove House.

Research shows the white parks reached their most endangered position following the Second World War. Winston Churchill recognised their heritage value and arranged for a herd to be sent to Canada for protection. During the 1960’s, only four domesticated and recorded herds remained, namely the Dynevor, Cadzow, Woburn and Whipsnade herds.

Christopher Price, the chief executive of the RBST, said: “The sharp fall in white park cattle birth registrations is a major concern for the breed’s future. These striking rare cattle are an irreplaceable part of the UK’s heritage.”

He said government support is “very limited and difficult to access” and called on ministers to deliver more incentives for farmers to choose native breeds.

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Other breeds of rare livestock and equine breeds were included in the RBST’s list of herds moved from the “at-risk” to “priority” category. These included the original population lincoln red cattle, boreray sheep and soay sheep.

A Defra spokesperson said: “Native and rare breeds of livestock provide genetic diversity and are an important part of our rural heritage.

“We will continue to support at-risk native breeds through a range of actions as part of our sustainable farming schemes, including providing funding for their grazing habitats.”