Despite all their tourist appeal, our dikes are first and foremost purely coastal and flood protection structures. Without dikes, no human life is possible on the German North Sea coast. They keep the land dry during daily high tides and protect us from severe storm surges. It goes without saying that the dikes must be permanently maintained. For this reason, the so-called dike leases maintain shepherds who have many hundreds of sheep grazing on the slopes of the dikes. "Storm is only when the sheep run out of curls," is a common saying among coastal residents about their favorite lawnmowers. And even tourists usually find it hard to resist the drab charm of the droll four-legged friends. They belong to the North Sea like lugworm and seal. Sheep are on the move on the dikes almost all year round. And they have been for centuries. Sheep provide wool, milk and meat and belong to the oldest domestic animal breeds.