Important changes that have reconfigured the rural world in recent decades include the abandonment of inner and remote territories, and the growth of the immigrant workforce. Pastoralism provides an intriguing perspective on these processes, as it embodies the contradictions of an agricultural practice increasingly appreciated but decreasingly practiced. This work questions the contribution immigrant shepherds are making to the generational renewal of pastoralism in the Euro-Mediterranean context. The results point that their relevance in terms of generational renewal are limited, and mostly context specific.