Good luck, woolly!
September 2, 2015 3:42 PM   Subscribe

Overgrown sheep rescued near Canberra receives some much-needed help from four-time Australian Shearing Championship winner Ian Elkins. As carrying full fleece can be dangerously unhealthy for the animal, RSPCA Australia will assess any injuries and provide updates.
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide (31 comments total) 8 users marked this as a favorite
 
That's got to be at least two ugly Christmas sweaters and a scarf never to be mentioned worth of wool.
posted by NoxAeternum at 3:54 PM on September 2, 2015


The article says the wool won't be good, but it's so snowy white when they pull it apart!
posted by Countess Elena at 3:56 PM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]


A bit more on why overgrowth is a big deal from the Canberra Times. In addition to the risks of flystrike and infection, the decreased mobility can interfere with grazing. It's a shame we've bred these animals to the point they can't survive absent intensive human care, but that's domestication for you.
posted by gingerest at 3:56 PM on September 2, 2015 [6 favorites]


I love the fact that someone who has won 110 shearing championships is helping. Seriously this line -- "Ian Elkins was in touch with us just recently, and apparently he has won 110 open shearing competitions, so I think we have our man" -- sounds like the equivalent of someone saying that Tool is going to drop by and play their 4th of July backyard party, because, you know, they heard that Jenny Jones is gonna be at the party and they know that you kinda have a crush on her ...
posted by jpolchlopek at 4:05 PM on September 2, 2015 [12 favorites]


Shaun, a sheep from Tasmania that had gone on the lam

This is the best sentence I have read all week.
posted by Squeak Attack at 4:07 PM on September 2, 2015 [29 favorites]


Shaun, a sheep from Tasmania that had gone on the lam

He even mucks about with those who cannot bleat.
posted by sandettie light vessel automatic at 4:11 PM on September 2, 2015 [5 favorites]



posted by NMcCoy at 4:20 PM on September 2, 2015 [5 favorites]


Apparently the shearing has begun.
posted by zachlipton at 4:21 PM on September 2, 2015


I want to know why articles about overgrown fleeces talk about the risk of the sheep dying during the shearing.
posted by jeather at 4:23 PM on September 2, 2015


Because sheep can be overstressed very easily, jeather. Add on 40+ extra pounds of wool and it's kind of like asking why a 400 lb human's heart rate goes up during a stress test. It will also take considerably longer to do than a sheep with a normal amount of fleece, compounding the problem.
posted by bitter-girl.com at 4:39 PM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]


I want to know who's paying for this. I wouldn't want the taxpayer to get fleeced.
posted by codacorolla at 4:52 PM on September 2, 2015 [3 favorites]


I recall seeing something a long, long time ago about a drug or some kind of chemical that would remove the need for shearing because the wool could be pulled straight out of the animal by hand.

You wouldn't get a shorn sheep. You get a totally bald, bright pink sheep.

On edit: Here it is. It's apparently too expensive and potentially unhealthy enough to both with it.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 4:55 PM on September 2, 2015


Sheep Nair?
posted by GuyZero at 5:04 PM on September 2, 2015


The picture of the overly woolly sheep has been making my day all today. Godspeed, my sheepy friend. I hope you pull through.
posted by Kitteh at 5:16 PM on September 2, 2015


I'm getting Samson and Delilah vibes from this. We've removed the source of that sheep's magnificent power.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 5:53 PM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]


42 kilos of fleece, a new world record apparently. Poor sheep. Now he probably looks like this guy.
posted by h00py at 6:20 PM on September 2, 2015 [2 favorites]


I recall seeing something a long, long time ago about a drug or some kind of chemical that would remove the need for shearing because the wool could be pulled straight out of the animal by hand.

You wouldn't get a shorn sheep. You get a totally bald, bright pink sheep.

On edit: Here it is. It's apparently too expensive and potentially unhealthy enough to both with it.


Oh wow this is literally giving sheep hardcore chemotherapy drugs to make them lose their hair.
posted by atoxyl at 6:52 PM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]


I said out loud to myself "I am so worried about that sheep."

I love sheep. They've always been my favorites and are among the main reasons why I stopped eating meat (I was always horrified by the fact people ate lamp chops).

In general principles, I don't really have a problem with wool. I don't wear it myself because I don't wear animal products & avoid eating them generally, but if I had my own sheep and I knew they were loved (because, well, they're my sheep so of course!), I wouldn't have a problem with their wool (just as I know of vegans who raise chickens & use their eggs). For me, the problem isn't so much animal products themselves so much as how they're produced.

When we breed animals for mass production, we forget they are actual living creatures underneath it that deserve some measure of dignity. Sheep should get to be sheep.

I really hope he's OK after this and ends up with a good life somewhere where he gets to be loved.

If possible, I hope they do something good with all that wool and it goes back to his care.
posted by darksong at 6:54 PM on September 2, 2015 [5 favorites]


Cool Papa Bell - yeah, cyclophosphamide is a member of the mustard gas derivative anti-cancer drugs, and is pretty toxic even by chemo standards. You wouldn't want to expose farm workers to that unnecessarily, not to mention the poor old sheep.
posted by gingerest at 6:55 PM on September 2, 2015


Besides Shaun, there was also Shrek the Sheep (RIP) who had a similar problem after evading capture for six years.
posted by emjaybee at 7:20 PM on September 2, 2015 [1 favorite]


40 kg. That's like carrying a small adult human around.
posted by wotsac at 8:03 PM on September 2, 2015


But why oh why have they named him "Chris"of all things? [Shakes head.]
posted by Halo in reverse at 12:30 AM on September 3, 2015


If they can't find his owner you can adopt the sheep!
posted by Violet Hour at 12:57 AM on September 3, 2015


MetaFilter: They can't survive absent intensive human care, but that's domestication for you.

I'm deeply ashamed, but I also can't stop giggling.
posted by hippybear at 1:32 AM on September 3, 2015 [1 favorite]


I don't know how many of you will possibly get this reference but...

See the merino standing there with his long shaggy hair.
posted by hippybear at 1:34 AM on September 3, 2015 [1 favorite]


They named him Chris?! A++++ Father Ted reference!
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 5:21 AM on September 3, 2015 [1 favorite]


So if Shrek's 23+ kilos are "enough for 20 men's suits", then Chris's record-breaking 40+ kilos are what, a fully-stocked tailor shop?

And yeah, I get that this wool is disgustingly dirty, with a wide assortment of bugs and dirt and sheep-poop stuck in there, but why couldn't it be used? After all, I'm sure they have to clean up any sheep's wool before it's used.
posted by easily confused at 5:33 AM on September 3, 2015 [1 favorite]


Oh wow this is literally giving sheep hardcore chemotherapy drugs to make them lose their hair.

FUCKED UP. Especially considering that the trait of growing wool forever and never shedding it has been bred into them by humans in the first place. A couple of breeds retain it, like some Shetlands.

And yeah, I get that this wool is disgustingly dirty, with a wide assortment of bugs and dirt and sheep-poop stuck in there, but why couldn't it be used? After all, I'm sure they have to clean up any sheep's wool before it's used.

You're right, they do. (Fun fact, one way of cleaning sheep fleece is by soaking it and letting the water ferment, which turns the lanolin into soap!) I bet it could be used and the person who's saying nobody will want it because it's gross is not a shepherd or spinner. Either that or the wool may have defects if the sheep is malnourished, poor guy.
posted by clavicle at 5:56 AM on September 3, 2015 [1 favorite]


I was deliriously happy to read that Chris had survived the shearing and to see the photos of him shorn and in a little protective wrap. All day I have been seeing photos of the young Syrian boy who drowned and really, really needed this bit of something good happening somewhere news.
posted by biggreenplant at 1:44 PM on September 3, 2015 [2 favorites]


Inordinately proud he broke the record for heaviest wool. Take that you Bledisloe hogging bastards!

(Actually just happy Chris is OK)
posted by arha at 3:57 PM on September 3, 2015 [2 favorites]


An update on Chris. He's doing well.
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 8:16 PM on September 11, 2015 [2 favorites]


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