Homestead Wool and Gift Farm, Animal Friendly Homespun Handspun Yarn

Is shearing sheep inhumane or cruel?

We do not believe sheep shearing is inhumane if done correctly. Shearing sheep each year is one of the most important parts of their care. Left unshorn, sheep can have a myriad of health problems that are all equally horrible—from fly strike to heat stroke, sores and more--even the inability to move correctly when the fleece tangles and matts.

Ross and I recently spent over an hour helping a friend shear a little sheep who had not been shorn for several years. That poor sheep had an approximately 20 pound + fleece that was completely tangled, matted and filthy. She had a collar imbedded around her neck that had to be cut away with a bolt cutter and the fleece we removed had to be thrown away. Luckily, despite the 4 inches of matt, we were able to leave about 2 inches of good wool on her to keep her warm the rest of the winter. The little ewe is older and was so happy to be free of that mess that she fell asleep while we were shearing her. The people who gave her to my friend had taken excellent care of her otherwise, things changed in the family and they were later unable to find a shearer that would make a trip for one sheep.....

While it is important to shear, it is equally, if not more important to have a kind, caring shearer who is skilled and careful with the sheep. We have several sheep who have had broken limbs, arthritis and even our little Molly who is missing part of her back leg. We spent a lot of time looking for a great shearer and have now found David who is just wonderful. He travels the area all summer shearing sheep and learned to shear in Australia .

He is so careful and kind to the sheep, takes a break if they are scared and talks to them (although he may not want us broadcasting that part! Ha!)

Shearing is accomplished by setting the sheep on its hinder and carefully turning the sheep to shear the entire fleece. He is careful not to cut them with the clippers and the whole ‘ordeal’ is over in about 5 minutes or less per sheep. The gift in a shearer is definitely personified by David , he has a unique way of handling the sheep that keeps them calm and comfortable—cradling them so there are not any injuries or traumatic experiences….

We do shear our goats each spring and fall ourselves—they are easy to work on and require nothing more than a scratch on the head to keep them standing still for me. We also have several sheep who we shear that are just easy enough to do, keeping them from being traditionally sheared to keep the stress off their once broken limbs.

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