Having grown up on a working sheep farm, I have witnessed thousands of sheep be sheared safely and professionally each year.
So to counter some of the myths and misconceptions circulating which suggest shearing is cruel and exploitative, I thought I’d document an afternoon in a shearing shed in Lancashire, UK.
The videos and photographs have not been altered/photoshopped so what you see is what happens for yourself.
SHEARING
Here is a video of Luna, my ‘pet sheep’, being clipped.
This is a typical example of how sheep are sheared in the UK.
Seth, our local shearer, completes the task in 54 seconds.
This may not be the quickest time but notice how the sheep is relaxed and unharmed by the process.
Farmers usually hire skilled and patient shearers who care for the welfare of the sheep – after all it is their livelihood in the shearers’ hands!
If a shearer is careless and unprofessional, word of mouth gets around and so they would not get any business.
No farmer would hire someone who physically abuses their sheep!
Seth (left) and Chris (right) busy shearingI have yet to encounter a shearer who attempts “fast work without regard for the sheep’s welfare” a claim on PETA’s website.
Possibly because shearers are often from farming backgrounds themselves and so understand the animals they are dealing with.
They shear the sheep as if they are their own, taking extra care and time rather than rushing to “get the most sheep done”.
If the sheep is injured, farmers and shearers work together to treat it immediately.
It is utter nonsense sheep are left to bleed out or shearers quickly do a ‘botch job of the stitching to save wasting time’ – every sheep is cared for on our farm without a time limit!
Shearing sheep also provides farmers with a chance to check their flocks health.
We can clearly identify which sheep is lame/has a bad bag whilst it is being sheared and so mark it with spray so that we can treat it afterwards.
So shearing sheep helps us identify any health problems the sheep may have and treat it as soon as possible.
Once sheared, the wool is wrapped.
And this is what freshly sheared sheep and tups look like …
Notice the lack of blood gushing from limbs?!
WOOL WRAPPING
Here is a video of me showing you how to do it (not my best or quickest attempt but you get the gist).
Below is a before and after photograph of wool wrapping.
The wool once wrapped goes into wool bags which are then stitched and labelled so that the British Wool Board knows where the wool has come from and who to pay!
Nowadays wool does not bring a lot of profit to a farmer, especially after paying the shearers and labourers.
In fact, the average wool cheque prices for 2019/2020 had ‘halved’ due to Covid-19 global market closure, with farmers receiving an average of 32p/kg for their wool.
So the idea that sheep are shorn for ‘monetary motives’ seems bizarre, given the lack of a profit margin within in the wool industry.
The best reward sheep farmers can get from wool is this certificate!
WHY DO FARMERS SHEAR SHEEP?
Sheep farmers shear their sheep usually once a year during the summer months when the temperatures become hot.
They do this because it has great health benefits for their flock, in that shearing:
- Prevents buildup of manure and urine that can lead to parasitic infection and flystrike- long fleeces are likely to become dirty and drag along the ground.
- Allows adequate wool regrowth which improve the sheep’s ability to control its body temperature during extreme heat and cold conditions.
- Creates a clean environment for newborn lambs.
- Decreases the chance of heat stress.
It is crucial to shear sheep annually for the sake of their health and not to do so would be incredibly cruel and detrimental to the flocks health.
I hope you have found this blog post informative and let me know if you have any more questions about sheep shearing!
Off back outside enjoying their new haircut
Hannah Binns 