Sheep are not stupid (they are intelligent amusing creatures who can recognise up to 50 people for up to 2 years, and know when you’re smiling at them! England has millions of sheep (Cumbria has six times more sheep than people!) and there are also more sheep in Northumberland and Shropshire than two-legged residents!)
Report concerns of farm animals in the first instance (most will be thankful you did). If you can’t find them (or have no joy communicating regards concerns, call RSPCA (or Crimestoppers if you wish to remain anonymous).
Sheep do need shearing, otherwise they can’t see predators, over-heat and can fall over in rain. If you find a sheep on its back, right it up or it will die (stay with it until rain has drained away).
Also read the posts on how to:
- Follow the Countryside Code to help dogs and livestock
- Help farm sanctuaries (that give homes to rescued animals)
- Vegan alternatives to lamb and vegan kebabs
- Vegan alternatives to winter woollies
Like goats, sheep have rectangular vision so they can usually see you coming (as long as they don’t overgrown wool around their eyes) and as an animal vulnerable to all kinds of prey, they are always on alert for predators.
They have excellent sense of smell (with scent glands in front of their eyes and in their hooves, to communicate to each other). They also have excellent hearing – each lamb recognises his or her mum by her bleat, in the midst of a field of hundreds of even thousands of other sheep).
One breed is Herdwick sheep, suited to the climate in isolated Cumbrian Fells, and counted by farmers using the yan-tan-tethera method, a kind of rhyme that uses rounds of 20 (also used in ancient times to count knitting stitches!)
Welfare Issues with Sheep
Most sheep are farmed outdoors, but often over-bred to produce two or more lambs (in nature, multiple births are rare) to meet demands for Easter lamb. Many ewes miscarry or lambs die early due to disease/exposure.
Having this many sheep at one time in a field also means farmers have a constant battle (due to English wet weather) with foot scald (inflammation from droppings/soil bacteria) or the more serious foot rot (the hoof starts to die). Most sheep get one or the other (farmers spray the feet, but it’s a never-ending battle).
The other main disease is fly strike (maggots caused by blowflies laying eggs in fleece), which leaves near-fatal open wounds. Some sheep farmers practice mulesing (slicing away chunks of skin without painkillers) which is why ‘ethical wool companies’ have website statements that they only buy wool from farmers who do not use this practice.
As mentioned above, sheep do need shearing. But good sheep farmers (and sheep sanctuaries) pay shearers per hour (not by sheep) to ensure the job is done properly. Sheep not sheared properly can catch pneumonia.
Help for Sheep and their Shepherds
- Mudcontrol is recommended by farmers to stop having to sink concrete into your land. Safer for animals and humans, it can help turn dangerous muddy ground into safe paths.
- Sheepeasy is a smart invention to make it easier to look after feet of sheep, goats and alpacas, while keeping them calm. Developed by an engineer, it’s sold in 3 sizes. Just hook on a fence, hurdle or gate. Find info on preventing/treating footrot at Sheep Veterinary Society and Homeopathy at Wellie Level (courses endorsed by vets).
- The Farming Community Network is an umbrella of charities that have helplines for struggling farmers. From providing free feed to livestock to help with finances and tenancy
- The Transfarmation Project can help with setting animal farmers up with free feed and advice to grow profitable oats (for oat milk). This can save cherished family farms, letting animals live out lives in peace.
Meet a Vegan Middle Eastern Prince!
Then there is the emotive issue of religious slaughter (without stunning) which happens mostly to older sheep (due to there not being much of a market for mutton). Compassion in World Farming says animals do suffer, and want it banned. It’s fine for Muslims (and Jews) to be plant-based (like Prince Khaled bin alwaleed who invests heavily in vegan companies). Read some vegan Middle Eastern recipe books!
The law is a mess. CIWF says that many meats sold as Halal are stunned, and that some supermarkets sell it (but don’t label it) so others buy Halal meat, when they don’t want it.
Many ‘stunned sheep’ suffer the same fate, when electrical stunning fails. And hundreds of thousands of sheep are exported live in cramped lorries (only receiving water and rest after 14 hours if the law is upheld) with many dead of thirst or heat exhaustion on arrival.
It does now hopefully appear that the Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill introduced into Parliament in 2023 means a ban (with exports of cattle and pigs) will soon be law.
