The Charmoise is a domesticated breed

Breed

A breed is a group of domestic animals or plants with a homogeneous appearance, behavior, and other characteristics that distinguish it from other animals or plants of the same species. Despite the centrality of the idea of "breeds" to animal husbandry, there is no scientifically accepted...

 of sheep originating in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. The breed was development in the late 18th century by crossing imported Romney sheep

Romney (sheep)

The Romney, formerly called the Romney Marsh sheep but generally referred-to by the local farmers as the Kent, is a breed of sheep originating in England. The Romney is a "long-wool" breed recognized in England by 1800...

 from United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 to native hill sheep. The Charmoise is a meat breed. The population of this breed decreased from over 122,000 in 1993 to over 21,000 in 2001.

Characteristics

This breed displays white and is unicolored. Rams weigh 70 kg (154.3 lb) and ewes weigh 45 kg (99.2 lb). At the withers, rams are 65 cm (25.6 in) and ewes are 60 cm (23.6 in)