Meat

Van Rooy

C tier

Van Rooy is a white South African fat-tailed breed developed by senator J. C. van Rooy in the early twentieth century by combining Rambouillet, Ronderib Afrikaner, and other inputs for a large, polled, hardy meat sheep. It was designed for the Free State’s climatic extremes. Van Rooy lamb yields heavier carcasses than many indigenous types while retaining arid adaptation—useful for regional abattoirs and farm slaughter. Flavour is moderate-to-full with fat-tail richness; purebreds remain less numerous internationally than Dorpers but valued in southern African low-input systems.