11-19-2020, 10:00 PM
(This post was last modified: 11-19-2020, 10:27 PM by LPC.
Edit Reason: Typo
)
As you know, Catherine, we had sheep for a good many years. They were almost part of our family and we were very attached to them. Part of caring for them was having to shear them. We did not do this for pleasure (it takes hours and was backbreaking), nor for profit (we did not sell it).
However, not shearing sheep is *not* an option. To leave sheep to overheat in the summer with thick wool coats would be an act of cruelty. In past years I would occasionally see the odd small field where sheep had been "left to it" by their owners (I will not call them caretakers) who were too busy or too old to shear them. The effects were indeed cruel: panting, even losing consciousness, during a heatwave; rubbing on trees and posts because of skin irritation; very long, matted coats which dragged on the ground and got filthy in the winter; and above all: the dreaded fly strikes, where flies would be attracted to the dung stuck on the long fibres. The flies would lay eggs in the skin, causing maggots to grow under the skin.
This never happened with our sheep. They were shorn yearly, with love and respect. At the same time, they were treated to "pedicure", worm treatment and anti-fly treatment. Our sheep were so used to the routine that we did it with them standing up, with one person calming them with caresses and little treats, whilst another did the shearing.
There are some farms which produce wool in a humane fashion. It can be done. If you remember, Catherine, some while ago I posted a video of humane shearing being done (also a video of alpaca shearing).
However, I totally condemn the cruel way in which the vast majority of sheep are shorn. The situation is particularly bad when shearers are paid per sheep (piecework). This encourages them to work fast, in order to make the most money possible in the shortest time. So I can understand why organisations are seeking to avoid the use of wool in clothes - and now tennis balls. Animal welfare must be the most important thing for anyone who has any animal in his/her care. It is certainly the case that almost all of the commercially produced sheep wool has been cruelly shorn.
However, with the vital condition that it must be done with love and great care, avoiding stress and pain, it remains true that shearing is essential for sheep. Otherwise, pain and suffering will result from severe overheating in summer and fly strike.
However, not shearing sheep is *not* an option. To leave sheep to overheat in the summer with thick wool coats would be an act of cruelty. In past years I would occasionally see the odd small field where sheep had been "left to it" by their owners (I will not call them caretakers) who were too busy or too old to shear them. The effects were indeed cruel: panting, even losing consciousness, during a heatwave; rubbing on trees and posts because of skin irritation; very long, matted coats which dragged on the ground and got filthy in the winter; and above all: the dreaded fly strikes, where flies would be attracted to the dung stuck on the long fibres. The flies would lay eggs in the skin, causing maggots to grow under the skin.
This never happened with our sheep. They were shorn yearly, with love and respect. At the same time, they were treated to "pedicure", worm treatment and anti-fly treatment. Our sheep were so used to the routine that we did it with them standing up, with one person calming them with caresses and little treats, whilst another did the shearing.
There are some farms which produce wool in a humane fashion. It can be done. If you remember, Catherine, some while ago I posted a video of humane shearing being done (also a video of alpaca shearing).
However, I totally condemn the cruel way in which the vast majority of sheep are shorn. The situation is particularly bad when shearers are paid per sheep (piecework). This encourages them to work fast, in order to make the most money possible in the shortest time. So I can understand why organisations are seeking to avoid the use of wool in clothes - and now tennis balls. Animal welfare must be the most important thing for anyone who has any animal in his/her care. It is certainly the case that almost all of the commercially produced sheep wool has been cruelly shorn.
However, with the vital condition that it must be done with love and great care, avoiding stress and pain, it remains true that shearing is essential for sheep. Otherwise, pain and suffering will result from severe overheating in summer and fly strike.
