Shetlands

Shetland Sheep are an undomesticated or feral breed. Basically this means that they were left alone in the wild and allowed to fend for themselves, which makes them one of the few breeds of sheep left that are exactly the same as their wild counterparts. The deeper meaning of this is that they have very few problems. They are wonderful mothers who hardly ever have trouble lambing (they generally have twins but can have quadruplets!). They shed naturally and are very hardy during the winter months.
So many sheep like Shetland are hazardously endangered and not much is holding them from extinction. Luckily through much effort the Shetland breed has come back from a rare status and its population is now on the incline. Sadly, this can not be said for many of the other breeds. Why would Shetlands ever be endangered? Well, despite their adorable appearance and their charming personalities Shetlands are very small. This size makes them less profitable in the meat market. When looking at Shetland meat several observations can be made: there is much less of it than the larger commercial breeds that are breed specifically for meat, and its undomesticated background has left the meat with lots of taste and appeal for those who eat it. What happened was that Shetlands and the other smaller sheep were not raised for meat because they couldn't compete so the population dropped with new domesticated sheep. Their wool, which is wonderful but on a totally different level than most other breeds was not favored, somewhat because they lack consistency throughout the wool. Again allowing other breeds to stand in front of them and take the profit. However, Shetlands have a beautiful fleece that creates wonderful products, the best known is the fair isle patterns, and can pull in quite a profit.
In the current times, many people are starting to pay attention to the smaller breeds that hold historical value and still have the wonderful flavor that many meats today lack. People have started to focus on and breed for the heritage breeds and some(defiantly not all) are making a comeback into the world. This does not relate to only sheep. Many chickens that were previously endangered have become more popular with the growth of backyard flocks, as well as cows, horses, pigs, etc.
Hopefully the people of the world will continue to promote the more remote breeds and bring them back into the mainstream of things.