What’s in a name?

This paper examines the argument that the contemporary convergence of economy and species existence signals the emergence of a novel and distinctive formation, the bio-economy. It does by focusing on the role that the preservation of three breeds of sheep, the Xisqueta, the Sambucana and the Herdwick, plays in the renewal of agricultural communities in the Catalan Pyrenees, the Maritime Alps and the Lake District. In so doing, the paper not only draws attention the importance of affective relations to the emergence of bio-economic relationships, but also brings the value attached to the encounter of human and non-human animals into dialogue with an understanding of the same assemblage as a field of intensive flow. The paper thus contributes to ongoing discussions about diverse forms of economic valuation and their production.