There is more to a lamb than their good looks.

[Catherine]

Animals Australia posted a  video about lambs.  It is too cute.  I think it is a bit of an Australia day message about sheep and lambs.

http://www.animalsaustralia.org/features...ua_s=email

I had no idea that sheep could be so clever.

[LPC]

What a delightful video! Tamara and I just loved watching it! It reminded me of when our beloved Josette was a baby lamb, rejected by her mother. We took her inside the house for a few very cold nights and she played football with Tamara, using a tinkly ball. Not as dramatic as the video, but we enjoyed it none the less.

I have never seen a sheep jumping over a series of wooden fences (like in dog competitions) before. But I am not entirely surprised. Sheep intelligence is often underrated, like that of cows. Perhaps people choose to underrate such intelligence, to prevent too much guilt at eating lamb or beef.

Thanks once again for finding such a wonderful video! With your permission, I would like to mention the video on another forum, as the more it is seen the better.

[Ruth]

Oh I love to see videos like this. I saw an awful one about lambs the other day and it's so nice to see something positive. They sure are smart and cute!

[Catherine]

Do share the video. They want it to be shared.

I didn't know sheep were that intelligent. I certainly didn't know lambs would play like that.

You must have had a wonderful time with Josette if she was playful like that.

It puts eating sheep and lambs in a whole new light, which is the point of the video.

[Tobi]

I once saw a video of Josette playing ball with Tamara! It was a treat to watch, and she seemed no different than an average pup.

I think when many creatures develop a relationship with humans, we begin to discover they are -Souls, personalities, potential friends and loved ones. It doesn't seem to matter what species they are.

[Catherine]

I think we are coming to know that all life has something that makes it more than an object. All life needs to be respected.

Seeing the lambs and sheep playing and interacting with people makes it clear that we have very much underestimated sheep.
I understood that they weren't too bright, but I question that now. Lambs seem to have wonderful personalities. It makes me wish I actually knew a lamb personally.

[Tobi]

The misconception about sheep not being too bright, may come from using them as conveniences for humans, and "stock", and people not bothering to form real relationships with them. Most creatures will either fear or ignore humans unless they are brought into a sense of relationship with them.
Then, I think the negative stereotype became a little bit amusing for people....maybe (like LPC said) that attitude was convenient because we treat them like commodities, and turn a blind eye to their suffering and slaughter when the time comes for it. For most farmers, sheep are stock, therefore money, therefore commodities.

But anyone who has hand-reared a lamb will know that they are not stupid.

I knew a hand-reared sheep once. She lived in a field in North Wales, with all the other sheep. When I walked past they all ran away, except her. She would come to the fence bleating at me, following me along the fence, until I payed her some attention. She loved ear-scratches and belly rubs. Just like a dog! She put her head on one side to take in what I was saying to her.
She brought a lot of laughter and fun to the long walk and climb down and then back up the 1000ft when I went to the village for supplies. It was obvious she was not stupid.

[Catherine]

It is typical of humans to use a negative stereotype when we want to use something. We do it with other humans so of course we do it with animals.

We want sheep to be stupid so we can treat them badly and say it doesn't matter because they are stupid.

Two points, sheep are clearly not stupid and why do we think we can treat someone badly if they are stupid.

I wish I had the chance to meet lambs and sheep like some of you have. You are lucky to see first hand how interesting sheep are.

[Ruth]

I posted the video on Facebook. I hope people looked at it.

[Catherine]

It is cute so people should be interested. Maybe it will convince even one person not to have lamb for dinner. I feel a little off  eating a baby animal.