The student portal of Université Grenoble Alpes

Don't look for the five-legged sheep

On campus, rustic, local and valued sheep breeds

No Merinos or Shetlands here, and since you won't find these models of lawnmowers in office supply catalogs either, here are the characteristics of the four local (large southeastern quarter) and rustic breeds that make up the campus herd.

1. White sheep from the Massif Central – 15 ewes – 18 lambs – 1 ram Bob – White fleece and skin with a long and fine head – Its hardiness gives it excellent adaptability to difficult conditions;
2. Black Corsicans – 21 ewes – Origin: as their name indicates – Fleece and skin as their name indicates – "the most temperamental and those who do the most stupid things" (sic);
3. Thônes et Marthod – 18 ewes and the ram Coco – White with black muzzles – Origin: Savoie – A rustic breed by origin, "which withstands the cold well" perfect for "all outdoors";
4. Mourerous – 8 ewes – Red fleece and skin as their Provençal name indicates – Origin: Occitanie – Used to the outdoors.

The herd occupying the campus is "a young and growing herd".

Several lambs are expected to be born at the end of April on campus. Given that a sheep's lifespan is 7 to 8 years, it's highly likely we'll see these new residents again in the coming years, especially since it's a "metropolitan" flock. In fact, when they're not grazing on the university grounds, you can also spot them in the towns of Poisat and Corenc. The increasing scarcity of available farmland, even for rent, around Grenoble is the reason for the occupation of these "peri-urban pastures." However, when these atypical campus residents are not in the lecture halls of UGA, they have the pleasure of returning to their alpine pasture: Pâturage Jean Collet in Sainte-Agnès – Belledonne mountain range – 45.23605974320546, 5.926246204140852. The next transhumance (on foot) and therefore the return to the mountains, will take place at the end of April.

In the meantime, don't bother looking for the campus sheepfold; it doesn't exist. The campus sheep are raised in the "Provençal" style: they're outside all the time, without shelter. This explains the use of hardy breeds. They stay in the same spot for four to five days, until there's no more grass to graze, while also clearing the area and trees of ivy: ivy is their favorite treat! This "grass-based" diet, entirely on grass with no additional feed, also has the advantage of producing meat with a milder flavor than hay-fed sheep, even if the yield may suffer.

The story of Snow White

"Sheep aren't cuddly toys," it's very difficult to form emotional bonds with them. They don't really tame. This explains why only some of them have names. And the shepherd explains that he himself doesn't know them all: "Like at school, the teacher [the shepherd] only remembers the bad students!" However, you'll still encounter Crapule, Capsule, Crépuscule, Bob, Coco… But these emotionally unfriendly sheep only really show interest in the shepherd when the pasture is bare and they imagine that getting closer will bring them more food.

One sheep, young, frail, very pretty, is an exception to this rule. Her name is Snow White!
Barely born, her mother died because, while peacefully grazing, she swallowed a piece of sauce from a chip container… Since sheep cannot vomit, the mother died from this intrusion of a foreign object. The shepherd and his daughter took in the lamb and bottle-fed her for several months. It was this chance encounter and this close relationship that made Snow White—the name chosen by the shepherd's little girl—kinder, "less haughty," and more approachable to human visitors.

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"Peri-urban pastoralism", an ancestral but also innovative method of livestock farming

To define his activity and the presence of his flock on campus, Tomas – pronounced [tɔmaʃ] – the farmer-breeder-shepherd, prefers to use the terms "urban pastoralism" or simply pastoralism: an ancestral but innovative form of livestock farming, distinct from "eco-grazing" or "eco-pastoralism." These latter terms would define a "non-productive" activity, suggesting a focus on landscaping or maintaining the environment. The primary objective of pastoralism, and of Tomas's work as a farmer, is indeed production: meat, milk, wool… Soil maintenance remains a by-product of this production, even though this land management is also the basis of the agreement that UGA signed with Tomas. Indeed, for the UGA, using a flock of sheep also allows the maintenance of places that are difficult to access with machines, however sophisticated they may be, reduces the use of tools or products with a negative ecological balance and also promotes the preservation or emergence of a rich and varied biodiversity.

For example, the sheep on campus graze and keep the ground clear, but they also reveal the layer of microplastic pollution that has accumulated over the past fifty years on the university grounds. Indeed, the sheep, "who aren't so stupid," manage to avoid these larger plastics, allowing the Landscaping Department to remove and collect them. This sharing of space with a moderate footprint, this co-management, and this waste prevention would also generate financial savings amounting to several thousand euros.

A "win-win" collaboration: to avoid being "taken for a ride"...

As part of its mission to manage and enhance the natural areas on university grounds, UGA is committed to promoting environmentally friendly maintenance practices across its territory. This "neo-pastoralism" initiative is part of this approach, enabling the ecological maintenance of certain plots by herbivorous animals, whose actions contribute to biodiversity and soil regeneration.

For his part, a farmer, Tomas, wanted to develop a livestock farming activity in a peri-urban area, relying on spaces that had previously been little or not at all exploited.
This joint project was therefore part of a desire to bring livestock farming closer to urban areas.

With this in mind, after consultation, an agreement was established whereby the UGA (University of Grenoble Alpes) makes certain plots of public land located on university grounds available to the livestock farmer for the purpose of establishing grazing areas. The long-term goal is to eliminate the need for mechanical mowing by gradually increasing the herd to 300 head of livestock. This number of animals would also be the essential condition for this livestock farming to generate two minimum wage salaries and thus allow Tomas to fully support himself through his agricultural activity. Tomas explains his presence on campus as an experiment: "He doesn't give money to the UGA and he doesn't receive money from the UGA." He is a part-time agricultural contractor, but he is not paid for his agricultural work. The only expense attributable to the UGA is providing the necessary water for the herd.

My colleague is a shepherd!

His name is Tomas – pronounced [tɔmaʃ] – Bustarret, he's 37 years old, from Saint-Égrève, handsome, a family man, and a self-employed farmer – livestock breeder – shepherd – nurse – a bit of an activist, and a part-time UGA employee. He worked for a long time in agricultural mechanics and as a seasonal shepherd, until eight years ago when he decided to become a sheep farmer: self-employed, running his own small agricultural business. Faced with a lack of arable land around the city, he had the idea of ​​approaching municipalities and public landowners to propose sharing the land.

He was the one who approached UGA to propose this unprecedented collaboration. In addition, since April 2025, Tomas, the livestock farmer, has also been a "road maintenance worker" for UGA: a part-time employee within the UGA Planning Department and the Urban Management Unit, responsible for urban and meadow cleanliness. This also allows him to balance a demanding professional life with an equally demanding family life with his 5-year-old daughter. Finally, Tomas is also a herdsman-nurse: he knows how to administer first aid and perform basic veterinary procedures for the health animal and herd: sutures, injections…

Pyrenean Mountain Dogs. Not as gentle as lambs! Be careful…

Hermes and TartuffeThe two Pyrenean Mountain Dogs, responsible for monitoring and guarding the flock, carry out their mission with the utmost zeal. Therefore, it is best not to disturb the sheep, and the greatest restraint is required when approaching the flock.
You will see him less often, but the flock is regularly accompanied, during movements, by the herding dog: a Border Collie who answers to the name of Skully.

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