"And once again I ask, what made you think there'd be a living in sheep?"

While most upland farmers still keep sheep on their land, the changes here have been mirrored across not just the Dales but the entire British farming industry. The shepherd's life has never been an easy one, but for many it's getting tougher and more difficult than ever to make a profit.People who work sheep know that it's some of the hardest farming there is. A former shepherd once told me that sheep are only ever trying to do one of three things: "Escape, or die, or escape and then immediately die."

Mark Knopfler put it better, frankly: 

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Globally, lamb consumption is expected to grow by 15% between now and 2032, according to a report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the Food and Agriculture Organization. But changing tastes in the UK mean mutton, made from mature sheep, is no longer eaten in the same volume it was by previous generations and lamb has seemingly gone from a weekly staple to a meat more often eaten on special occasions, with "white meat" like chicken being increasingly chosen over lamb and beef.

And that't a pity, becase large parts of the country are suitable for nothing else and have, in fact been shaped by centuries of upland sheep farming. Of course, there are always those so shortsighted or blinded by spite they can applaud this:

Extremely tight margins mean growing numbers of younger people can't see a future in farming.And some welcome the decline in sheep farming. "Fewer sheep means less suffering […] a sheep's life in the wool and mutton industries belies our reputation as a nation of animal lovers," says Mimi Bekhechi, senior vice president at the UK's People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta).

But trust the BBC to see a posssible upide, thanks to their imported pets: 

But there is a ray of sunshine for the industry, according to Phil Stocker from the National Sheep Association. He believes the domestic market for sheep meat is going to keep driving forward, in large part thanks to demand from the increasing number of Muslim people in the UK.

.Sheep or Muslims, what a dilemma.