Difference and Variation
If humans not only saw sheep as sheep, but troubled more to look carefully at them and register differences and variations among them, they ought to be led to treat sheep better and more sensitively.
Of course, sheep are sheep. They all share certain characteristics. But pause and thought for just a mere moment bring to mind basic differences, male and female for instance. Rams/tups behave in certain ways - they ‘strut their stuff’ for example. Ewes/yows give birth and care for infants, and may neglect themselves in the process. And lambs have behavioural stages. Different breeds of sheep, from their heritage and traditional experience and environment, can have varying qualities and tendencies. Sheep out on open upland pasture will likely be quite self-reliant and resilient, whereas ‘commercial sheep’ in a lowland field will probably be more docile. Then, with a flock of sheep, not everyone acts the same way. Some may be ‘pushy’, others not.
But differences and variations can go much further, to individual level. As Lori Marino and Debra Merskin say in their Abstract to their paper ‘Intelligence, complexity, and individuality in sheep’ (Animal Sentience, 2019), ‘sheep are … complex, individualistic, and social.’ Marc Bekoff wrote ‘Why Sheep Matter: They’re Intelligent, Emotional, and Unique’ (12th May 2019) on his interview with Marino and Merskin about their paper. He asked them ‘Why did you write “Intelligence, complexity, and individuality in sheep”? This was the reply:
‘We wrote about sheep intelligence, complexity and individuality because - like all farmed animals - sheep are deliberately misrepresented in ways that make it easier for our species to prey upon them. For example, one of the more prominent stereotypes is that they are docile, obedient, and possessing little individuality. Hence, we use terms like “lambs to the slaughter” and “follow like sheep”. Our paper is meant to separate fact from fiction and to understand who sheep are - not what we want them to be. In the process we found out that our characterizations of them as dull-minded and lacking uniqueness and independence in their personality and desires is completely wrong. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.’
If a flock of sheep is small, for the human it is not difficult to notice differences between sheep, to know each sheep as an individual, to be aware what is the sheep’s norm and so to be able to observe if the sheep is behaving uncharacteristically and thus may be ill or distressed in some other way. But if a flock is large, it is all too easy for the person to see the sheep as one entity rather than as a group composed of distinct individuals.
Humans need to put in the effort to know and understand sheep better. Then, with the improvement in awareness, they will be equipped to treat sheep better.