At This Time

The United Nations Climate Change Conference COP28 (Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC) has just ended. At COP28 last Sunday, during Food, Agriculture and Water Day, was launched Plant Based Treaty’s Report Safe and Just which looks at global food systems. The Report covers several matters key to sheep. Two dimensions are addressed in the Executive Summary (p 17) in these statements: 

‘If we combine all land required for farming animals for meat - including grazing pastures and land used to grow crops for animal feed - animal agriculture accounts for 83 per cent of global farming land.’ 

‘Transporting live animals is not only cruel and prolongs their suffering, but adds to the growing number of emissions associated with farming animals for food - a climate cost that is rarely factored in.’

Methane emissions are discussed in the Report (p 34) with the remark given:

‘The historical breakdown of annual anthropogenic CH4 demonstrates that animal farming has consistently remained the predominant methane source for more than a century, and this trend continues to escalate due to the increasing demand of meat and diary products.’ 

Of the global food system, it is said:

‘The global food system, which greatly influences every aspect of the biosphere, is a primary driver of environmental degradation in the Anthropocene epoch. Central to this system is animal agriculture, which has a considerable ecological footprint. The clearing of forests for pastures destroys habitats, releases carbon, and removes carbon sinks. Monocultures for animal feed create biodiversity deserts.’ (p 44).

And it is also said: 

‘In terms of the efficiency of our global food system, animal products provide only 37 per cent of global protein intake and a mere 18 per cent of calories. Yet they are responsible for 83 per cent of agricultural land-use and 71 per cent of deforestation. The inefficiency of animal-based products, coupled with their substantial environmental impact across various areas, clearly indicates that an animal-centric global food system is not viable for meeting the needs of the 21st century.’

In regards land use, it is advised in in the Report:

‘Moving to a diet that excludes animal products has transformative potential, reducing food’s land use by approximately 3.1 billion ha (a 75 per cent reduction), which is crucial if we want to mitigate the climate crisis, restore integrity, and provide healthy food for all (Poore and Nemecek, 2018).’ 

The prominent attention in the Safe and Just Report - in the Executive Summary - to live exports and their cruelty to animals is much for welcoming. For, cautious, welcoming too is that in this month in the UK the Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill was introduced to Parliament (on 4th December) and will be debated in Parliament (on 18th December).  

An end, throughout the world, to live exports of sheep is heartily to be wished for. At this time of Christmastide, a period of festivity and revelry, what do sheep want for Christmas and for every day of the year? This must be the simple basics: good and right food; clean, fresh, drinking-water; access to shelter; good health; being with friends and family; peace and no unwanted disturbance. It can be noted that a feature of ‘holidaytime’ is people going for country walks, quite frequently in large groups, and often having dogs with them. So, a gift from humans to sheep is for people to ensure that their dogs - predators to sheep - are always on leads near sheep.  

Promisingly Better

It was a promising announcement last week, in the supporting document to the Kings’ Speech to Parliament (‘The King’s Speech 2023’, Prime Minister’s Office and OGL, 7th November 2023): the UK Government intends to ban live exports of certain animals - sheep, cattle, pigs, goats, horses - from Great Britain for slaughter and fattening. Method for delivery is to be the Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill. But, as Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) reminded us, in its 7th November 2023 press release welcoming the announcement, ‘In May this year, the Government reneged on its manifesto promise to deliver a live exports ban when it dropped the Kept Animals Bill.’ In one of the press release’s Notes to Editors CIWF provided this expanded information: ‘In May 2023, the Government dropped the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill, which would have banned live exports for slaughter or fattening from Great Britain, despite the Bill having received cross-party support during previous Commons stages.’ An important context of relevance is provided in the same press release in the CIWF Chief Public Affairs Manager’s words ‘…it is vital that the Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill is quickly introduced to Parliament, so it can be passed and implemented well before the next general election.’ The dimension is critical because dissolution of the current UK Parliament must have happened before or on 17th December 2024.

Live animal exports put animals at risk of suffering in various ways. Around the world, sheep are subjected to live export in large numbers. So, it is vital for sheep that live export of them stops everywhere. This year, New Zealand banned live animal exports trade and in Australia a process was started of phasing out live sheep exports by sea. Momentum in banning live exports of sheep, and of all animals, needs to build across the globe, with other countries following suit of early leaders. It is crucial for sheep’s welfare that the Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill is passed into law. And time is short. So, while it is promisingly better that the government in UK is promising to ban live animal exports from Great Britain, following breaking of the promise in the past, this time the promise must be kept.

The Sale, For Sheep

For sheep attending a sale, the experience is unlikely ever to be pleasant. The circumstance is unfamiliar to the sheep and of a type to - almost inevitably - bring stress to them and engender fear in them. The obligation of humans involved, therefore, is to see that they do everything they can to minimise unpleasantness for the sheep. 

We should remember too that sheep will also have to endure travel to and from a sale.

The essential sale format is: arrival; transfer to a pen; going in and out of a sale ring; transfer to a pen, departure. The hard landscape for the process is: the pens themselves; the passageways and raceways; the sale ring itself; the areas surrounding the ring providing the auctioneer’s rostrum, space for standing, tiered seating. Flooring too is hard, but the ring will have a covering of sawdust, as may have some other areas of flooring.

Characterising the sale is speed. Journeying from pen to ring, ring to pen, sheep are kept on the move. Sheep are required to be moved about in the ring, to be displayed to all viewers and potential buyers. Once bidding for them is completed, sheep are needed to leave the ring quickly - so that the next lot of sheep can enter the ring. All this produces the potential for ‘moving on’ to be more important than taking best care of the sheep and treating them with the utmost gentleness. To be hemmed in by the hard material of the ring itself, with entrance and exit gates closed, and with a crowd of people surrounding - some standing and some on rising-up seating must be terrifying to sheep, and especially since they are seeing the sight from a level lower than humans do. And for a sheep in the ring, on its own, apart from humans, and without consolation and ‘protection’ from being with fellow sheep, being in the ring must be particularly frightening. The sheep must feel especial desperation and desire to try jumping out of the ring. It risks harming itself in leaping at the hard boundary.

Sometimes a show will precede a sale. For those sheep who participate in the show, they will have the processes of the show ‘for getting through’; therefore, an extra element to their day.

There are variations to the routine ‘sheep in the ring’ kind of sale. For example, a sale may happen in pens and outdoors. This must in many ways be less stressful to the sheep, provided they are not outside in pens for a long time when weather is hot or wet or cold. At the Kelso Ram Sales, very large event though it is, with many sale rings, each ring is in an individual marquee, largely open-sided, and with sheep who are awaiting selling in that particular ring being penned in that same marquee - and thus nearby company to those in the ring. The ring is composed of metal hurdles; only two small tiers are present for people to stand upon; and, of course, grass is underfoot. So, in all, not so ‘alien’ as a standard indoor sale ring. 

There seems to be no dearth of legislation and regulation and advice concerning how livestock markets should be, and how they should operate. DEFRA’s guidance document ‘Livestock at farm shows and markets: welfare regulations’ (18th June 2019) represents a good summary of the situation overall. In the document is listed ‘the main legislation that governs animal welfare at shows and markets’. Provided is the information ‘Local authorities enforce health and welfare legislation at markets’. And explained in the document are the powers concerning markets of the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA). DEFRA also has a 1990 publication Code of Practice – Welfare of Animals in Livestock Markets PB0409. 

Key players in relation to livestock markets are the Livestock Auctioneers’ Association Limited (LAA), and the Humane Slaughter Association (HSA). The LAA, it says, ‘works to ensure that Livestock Auction Markets throughout England and Wales are working to the highest standards of health and safety and animal welfare, and complete and accurate traceability.’ It has a MartSafe Training Programme ‘for all staff within the Livestock Auction Market, from drovers to auctioneers, administrators to fieldsmen.’ The Units of the Programme are as follows: Animal Behaviour, Safe Handling, People Behaviour, Animal Welfare. The HSA provides a detailed guide Humane Handling of Livestock, the focus of which is ‘the handling of animals in markets’. The ‘Recommendations for Handling Animals in Markets : Moving Animals In/Around/Out of the Sale Ring’ poster from HSA and LLA (HSA & LLA Market Posters Series) is clear information for the animal handler in the sale ring.

It appears there is not a shortage of legislation, regulation and instruction on how livestock sales should be.  But if there is a gap and difference between ‘what should be happening’ and ‘what is happening’, it needs addressing. Since a day at the sale is manifestly not nice for sheep, we must look for ways of improvement and amelioration. Selling sheep directly from farms - by using internet live-streaming for example - and therefore the sheep not needing to travel, or suffer the whole livestock sale process, could be an alternative selling method on occasions. Selling from pens or from grassy fields that have been sectioned up for the day, rather than in the sale ring, could make being sold a less tough and fearsome an experience for sheep. These are straws in the wind. For sheep’s sake, let us search for and find a much better way of selling of sheep than by the traditional ‘cockpit’ ring method.

Sight ‘Unseen’

The impacts upon sheep who are in areas of war can largely only be guessed at. Media and other reports communicate what is happening to humans, but what is occurring to any sheep present is rarely spoken of. Sheep and their circumstances in a war situation are surely noticed, but it is as if the sight is edited out to be sight ‘unseen’. It can only be conjectured what the reasons are for the avoidance. Are sheep being dismissed by humans as of no importance? Or is it that, though humans are observing sheep, unconsciously they are not ‘clocking’ them in their minds? It can be noted that animals overall tend not to attract much attention when amid war, but there seems to be a hierarchy in the matter, with sniffer dogs and people’s pets at least getting some focus of attention from humans. 

In war-between-humans contexts, sheep may be in the wrong place at the wrong time: due to their location being in the line of fire; due to them being moved by humans with them because they represent economic entities and/or a foodstuff if needed.

Here is an example of the impact upon sheep of war and conflict. Within ‘The Animals in Conflict Timeline’ in its 18th March 2021 blog ‘How animals are harmed by armed conflicts and military activities’, the organisation Conflict and Environment Observatory conveys that in the Gulf War 1990-91 ‘More than 80 per cent of livestock in Kuwait died, including 790,000 sheep’.

War and conflict between people is a human creation. Sheep in a theatre of war are innocent victims there. The organisation Animal Ethics remarks that ‘Nonhuman animals’ suffering during armed conflicts is often overlooked or deemed irrelevant in the face of human suffering, both by the parties to the conflict and by the general public.’ (‘Animals and war’ blog, 17th June 2022).

So, while the media is telling us what is happening to humans at war and portraying what they are undergoing, what sheep are experiencing usually goes unreported and unmentioned. Why is this? Is it because sheep are regarded by humans as their inferiors and who do not matter?  Whatever the reason, what occurs to sheep in war is a story largely untold.

Rough Handling

Humans’ handling of sheep is often rough, unjustifiably and unnecessarily so. It would appear that rough handling stems from a mindset that a) perceives sheep as items rather than as living, sentient, creatures, b) does not have high regard for sheep, c) follows traditional practice without questioning it.   

Now that sheep in the UK have legal recognition of being sentient - they have feelings, so they experience fear and stress, feel pain - any human behaviour towards sheep which does not recognise that sentience is unacceptable.

In essence it seems that rough handling happens due to those in the sheepfarming world - sheepfarmers, handlers, drovers, shearers etc - often seeing sheep as inanimate objects rather than as live feeling beings like humans. Moreover, sheep do not seem to be looked on as individuals. In general, the process of sheep handling is not characterised by sufficient care and compassion.

While some handling of sheep occurs outside the farm, some of it does not. What happens on a farm is not usually seen - unless that farm features on television or it holds open days for the public. Both situations are hardly likely to represent routine circumstances. In the routine of the sheep farm, main handling of sheep will likely to be moving them and attending to them. Activity at shows can be seen. Largely, only those persons whose work is involved with sheep are at sales - therefore farmers (and their families), auctioneers and their staff, livestock transporters. Few people, other than slaughterhouse operatives, get to see what happens in a slaughterhouse.

Both DEFRA and the RSPCA both define how handling should and should not be.

DEFRA states 

‘Sheep should not be caught by the fleece alone. They should be handled or restrained by means of a hand or an arm under the neck (holding the neck wool, if necessary) with the other arm placed on or around the rear. Lifting or dragging sheep by the fleece, tail, ears, horns or legs is unacceptable. Care should be taken with horns, which may be broken off if sheep are roughly handled.’ (Code of Recommendations for the Welfare of Livestock: Sheep, August 2003).

DEFRA has also provided the Guidance document ‘Livestock at farm shows and markets: welfare regulations’ (last updated 18th June 2019). 

The RSPCA instructs
‘Sheep must be handled:

a) quietly and calmly at all times
b) only as firmly as is necessary to keep the animal safe and under control, and
c) with care to avoid unnecessary pain and distress.

The behaviour of sheep must be taken into account when they are being moved, so as to avoid unnecessary fear or distress and potential compromises to their welfare.’ 

Among information it then gives is

‘Sheep may baulk at apparent dead ends, shadows and changes in the in the colour/pattern of flooring.’ 

The RSPCA goes on to say

‘Sheep must not be caught by the fleece alone, nor lifted or dragged by the fleece, limbs, ears or tail, nor roughly handled by the horns.’ 

It provides the information ‘Horns, particularly of young sheep, can be damaged or broken if sheep are roughly handled by them.’

The handling instructions then are

‘Sheep must be handled or restrained by means of a hand or arm under the neck (holding, but not pulling, the neck wool if necessary) with the other arm placed on or around the rear.

Electric goads must not be present or used at any site.

Sticks must not be used for hitting sheep.’

It then gives the information ‘Sticks or other benign (non-harmful) handling aids may only be used as extensions of the arms.’

The last instruction is

‘Heavily pregnant ewes (those in the last two months of pregnancy) must:

a) only be handled when absolutely necessary, and
b) be handled with care to avoid distress and injury which may result in premature lambing.’

The information follows ‘The last two months of pregnancy is a critical time for the ewe as this is when the vast majority of foetal growth occurs. It is therefore important to minimise stress during this time. Handling should be kept to a minimum, and only when necessary, such as to monitor their body condition or to administer veterinary treatments.’
(RSPCA welfare standards Sheep, August 2023)

In its ‘Sheep welfare issues’ document the RSPCA gives this handling summary

‘Sheep are prey animals that can be easily frightened, stressed or injured by inappropriate handling. They should always be handled carefully, and should not be unnecessarily isolated from other sheep for long periods.’  

Some rough handling of sheep seems to be driven by human requirement, actual or perceived, for speed. This is especially so at a sale where a lot of sheep need to be put through the whole sale process, and to be well-seen by all viewers, in a certain amount of time. So, sheep are shoved and harried about and risk being hurt or bruised as drovers/handlers move them around - quickly.

Rough handling of sheep should never happen. When sheep handling is necessary, sheep should be handled with more care, more consideration, more sensitivity, and more gentleness - such as they display to us.

Human Viewpoint

How humans see non-human animals is what produces how they treat them. Speciesism is a word to mean an attitude of a species of seeing itself as superior to another or others. The word was first used in 1970 by Dr Richard D Ryder.  

Definitions of speciesism show some variation. 

Cambridge Dictionary gives its meaning as ‘the idea that one species (= set of animals with the same characteristics that can breed from another), especially human beings, is more important and should have more rights than another’. 

Oxford Languages defines it as ‘the assumption of human superiority leading to the exploitation of animals’.  

Collins English Dictionary’s definition is ‘a belief of humans that all other species of animals are inferior and may therefore be used for human benefit without regard to the suffering inflicted’. 

PeTA, whose mission statement is ‘ANIMALS ARE NOT OURS to experiment on, eat, wear, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way’ depicts speciesism as ‘the human-held belief that all other animal species are inferior.’ Then continuing, ‘Speciesist thinking involves considering animals - who have their own desires, needs, and complex lives - as means to human ends. This supremacist line of “reasoning” is used to defend treating other living, feeling beings as property, objects, or even ingredients. It’s a bias rooted in denying others their own agency, interests, and self-worth, often for personal gain.

This toxic worldview also leads humans to draw non-existent distinctions between animal species, based solely on the purpose that those animals might serve. For example, most humans wouldn’t dream of treating their dog the way pigs are treated in the food industry, even though pigs are able to experience the same, pain, joy, fear, and misery that canines do.’ 

Humans having a speciesist attitude towards non-human animals - seeing them as inferior - will perceive those non-human animals as not as same value and importance as themselves. From this attitude, conscious or unconscious, will be delivered humans viewing those non-human animals as less worthy than themselves, as suitable for treating less well than themselves, as appropriate for use for human purpose and gain, as representing humans’ property for doing with as they will and want. 

As the quote above from PeTA portrays, different non-human animals can have differing levels of value to humans. Clearly dogs are high on the scale of human regard. (It is perhaps no wonder that so much sheep worrying by dogs occurs.) Sheep appear not to have at all high esteem in the human mind; they are regarded of much less stature than they deserve, and despite that they are gentle, intelligent, and of very good nature: and with the sad outcome that sheep are not - by a long way - treated as well as they ought to be.   

Humans seeing non-human animals as property, results in those non-human animals not being treated well as, or as ‘equals but different’ to, humans. Of we humans Gary L Francione remarks ‘When we recognize that animals have a right not to be used as property, we reject treating them exclusively as means to ends. We recognize that we cannot justify imposing any suffering or death on them incidental to their use as resources. We stop our institutionalized exploitation of them.’ Francione is of the opinion that, as sentient beings, non-human animals should be treated as persons (Why Veganism Matters: The Moral Value of Animals, 2020).

Humans’ speciesism, their arrogance and superiority towards non-human animals, results in the latter being treated by humans as their property, for their use, and in a manner to meet those humans’ requirements. If they saw non-human animals as their equals, and of equal worth as themselves, humans would not be treating non-human animals inhumanely and inappropriately.

Fundamental Change

Last year in the UK, The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 gave legal recognition that non-human vertebrates (along with any cephalopod molluscs and any decapod crustaceans) are sentient. On 25th May this year the Animal Sentience Committee was launched. 

So, sheep are sentient. No ifs. No buts. Sheep are recognised to have feelings - joy, fear, pain, distress, and so on. This recognition represents a ‘game-changer’. No longer can any human argue that sheep don’t feel. The law says that they do. No longer can anyone act towards sheep as if they did not have feelings. For anyone who is involved with sheep to profess ignorance of sheep being sentient is not acceptable. No longer can treatment of sheep that causes suffering to them be justified. No longer can it be ignored when a sheep is being made to suffer directly by human action or through human choices and decisions.

A plethora of things in the sheep farming process come to mind which, with the formal recognition of sheep’s sentience, must now be re-evaluated, for seeing if they are suitable to be allowed and continued in the new situation of legal acceptance that sheep have feelings. 

In his book Animal Liberation Now ((2023), Peter Singer, the philosopher and animal rights campaigner, says this: ‘If a being suffers, there can be no moral justification for refusing to take that suffering into consideration.’  

Much rides on the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act’s recognition of sheep’s sentience, and on how strongly that recognition is promulgated and enforced. Vital is instilling in the sheep farming community an awareness of the sentience of sheep, and of the consequences therefrom concerning how sheep farming procedures and actions should be. But it is wider than that. For all of us is the duty and obligation to demonstrate cognisance and acceptance that sheep are sentient.

Wild Camping and Sheep

It has been reported that the shadow environment minister, Alex Sobel, has said that ‘Labour would legislate so that people visiting national parks have the right to wild camp’ (Helena Horton, The Guardian, 4th August 2023). Labour is a political party in the UK. The National Parks concerned are those in England.

Largely, National Parks in England are marginal lands. Therefore, sheep are present in them in considerable number. So, it is worth thinking about what could be the situation and might be the effects and outcomes if wild camping was happening on land where sheep are present.  As context is that recently in the UK, ‘the court of appeal ruled that wild camping on Dartmoor [a National Park] was lawful without landowner permission, overturning a high court ruling in favour of a landowner who wanted to ban the practice.’ (Helena Horton, The Guardian, 4th August 2023) 

If wild camping with permission was to occur on National Park land, or any rural land, which is a habitat of sheep, humans would be occupying areas of sheep presence for extended hours and, moreover, would be engaging in new and additional kinds of activity. They would be in sheep’s territory, not just during daylight hours but during hours of darkness too. So, sheep would have no ‘downtime’ of peace and quiet.

For humans, wild camping will be a lovely idea and ideal. It represents having access to nature at night as well as day and with all the fresh experiences that night-time can bring and offer. It can be imagined that giving opportunities for wild camping can deliver circumstance to possibly engender activities such as: revelling; noisy partying; heavy consuming of alcohol; lighting fires for heat and food cooking and which could get out of hand; leaving litter and detritus dangerous to sheep, for example, broken glass and tin cans. Such human activity would, at the very least disturb and frighten sheep, and could deliver worse harm to them than that. Clearly, education and regulation will be needed to try to avoid harm being done to animals and environment. It can be hoped that humans will display wisdom and responsibility in wild camping, will adhere to ‘leave no trace’ principles, will do nothing to cause upset or harm to sheep, but will they all behave well and appropriately? Wild campers have cover of darkness. And how is wild camping to be monitored and managed? Worth remembering is that, while shepherds/sheep farmers regularly check the sheep in their care, nowadays sheep are on their own most of the time, whether in or outside a National Park.

Wild camping in a place where sheep are present is to put human want above sheep need and welfare. It is inconceivable that wild camping in National Parks would not deliver some adverse circumstances to the sheep residing in them. 

Time In The Countryside

Now is a time of the year when a lot of people in the Northern Hemisphere visit the countryside for purposes of relaxation and enjoyment. Many of them will be urban, or suburban, dwellers, and so they will not necessarily be arriving in the countryside with knowledge of rural ways and knowing about sheep.

Staying in holiday accommodation at, or nearby to, farms that have sheep can give visitor outsiders the great opportunity for discovering about sheep and their characteristics and needs; as similarly can camping out in those areas of countryside where sheep reside and graze. Signage and leaflets etc are around for explaining what is expected of visitors to the countryside and saying how they should behave for sheep to be safe and unharmed. Those who are day visitors may not during their visit be gaining all information needed.

Of those who dwell full-time in the countryside, most require to earn a livelihood in it, unless they are commuting to work in a town. Farmers often need to diversify to obtain an adequate income. In a tourism area, many other people, in whole or part, depend on visitors for their income. The challenge for all of these persons is to welcome visitors but to deter visitors from doing any harm or damage. For sheep farmers, dogs not managed and controlled properly by their owners is the great worry. Sheep are prey animals. Dogs’ instinct is to chase sheep. Sheep can suffer stress, injury or death due from being chased or attacked by dogs. It is vital that owners keep their dogs on leads when the dogs are near sheep.

Hot Weather

In various parts of the world sheep must be feeling the heat. The Met Office says that last month was the hottest June in the UK since records began. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), depicting findings of the Copernicus Climate Change/European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, said on 6 July ‘The world just had the hottest June on record’ (News section). In Headline Statements of the AR6 Synthesis Report: Climate Change 2023 (March 2023) of The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change it is said: ‘Human activities, principally through emissions of greenhouse gases, have unequivocally caused global warming, with global surface temperature reaching 1.1°C above 1850-1900 in 2011-2020.’  And adding another dimension, WMO announced in a 4 July press release ‘El Niño develops in tropical Pacific. It will likely fuel further global temperature increase.’  

All those who look after sheep need to have awareness of how sheep are, and are likely to be, affected directly and indirectly by hotter weather. For the sheep’s welfare and for sheep not to suffer, sheep’s carers need to take measures to ameliorate the situation as far as possible.

Heat is increasing, hot spells are extending. Hot weather is delivering wildfires. From greater and more heat is delivered: parching of sheep’s pasture; more and sooner drying out of sources of sheep’s drinking water. For their protection from heat, sheep will need enough shade to be present, or created. And if sheep’s grazing pasture is in full heat of sun, it may be too dried out for them to get good nutrition, and/or sheep may not be able endure that strong heat long enough to eat enough pasture to stay fully-nourished. So, they may need supplementary food. Drought caused by hot weather may bring result of drying up of drinking water resources. And in much heat, sheep will be extra thirsty and will need constant supplies of fresh, and clean, drinking water. That water needs to be in the shade. Nights may be quite warm and so sheep may not be able to cool down from the heat of the day. Careful consideration needs to be given to when shearing of sheep takes place. Sheep should be shorn in advance of an anticipated hot weather period. A one-inch-thick fleece provides some relief because it disperses the heat while giving protection against sunburn of the skin. If possible, sheep should not be put in any type of tight group in hot weather. Disturbance and handling of sheep at hottest times of day should be avoided. It is obviously undesirable to keep sheep outdoors in holding pens for a long time in hot weather. Transportation of sheep should only occur at cool times. Hotter weather will render sheep more prone to illness and disease caused by insects, prominently fly-strike. 

All people who are responsible for sheep and their wellbeing need to consider, and act accordingly in relation to, global warming’s impacts on sheep. 

Now, the heat is on.

‘Not Economic’

Disappointingly, on an Outer Hebridean island there seemed to be a dearth of Hebridean sheep. Apparently, they are ‘not economic’.

It can be understood that for all those who aim to earn a living from sheep farming - and its related activities - the endeavour must work economically. But are all, or too many, decisions made just on economic criteria? It seems that economics define, so much, the choices, activity and process in sheep farming. What about sheep welfare? Where does that sit in the hierarchy of priorities?

Among things economics are likely to influence or govern, as well as what sheep breed or cross-breed is decided to be bred and farmed, are how long is the life of a sheep to be, where is it to be located, what grazing or feed it has, to where and in what manner it be will be transported, the amount of quality - beyond specified levels - of the facilities of shows, sales, slaughterhouses. 

Discussing the animal producer industry in his book Why Veganism Matters: The Moral Value of Animals (2022) Gary L Francione opines ‘… the level of protection for animal interests is, with rare exceptions, set by the industry and is linked to what is required to exploit animals in an economically efficient way’ (p 32). He goes on to remark ‘If animals are property, welfare standards will always be low and will be shaped more or less by what level of protection is necessary to exploit animals in an economically efficient way’ (p 46).   

Sheep are living creatures, and, in all the decisions which humans make concerning them, the sheep’s welfare should be the paramount consideration. If to do something is in the sheep’s best welfare, and it is the right thing to do, it should be done. The thing should not be avoided being done on grounds that it is ‘not economic’ to do it. 

And, as the photograph indicates, eventually some Hebridean sheep were seen, exceptions to the generality of their absence on this visit to the Outer Hebrides.

Disturbing News

On 25th May 2023, the UK government (Conservative) dropped the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill. The news was given in an oral statement to Parliament by Mark Spencer, the Minister for Farming and Rural Affairs.

The news is disturbing for everyone concerned for the welfare of animals. Included in the Bill were a range of items. The Bill addressed two issues key to sheep and their welfare. Legislation in the Bill was to ban exports from Great Britain of live animals for slaughter and fattening, and to get tougher on worrying and attacks by dogs on livestock. Sheep feature much as creatures of live exports. It is sheep, prey to dogs, who suffer worrying and attack from dogs.

Mark Spencer said ‘…we will be taking forward measures in the Kept Animals Bill individually during the remainder of the Parliament.’ (‘Oral statement to Parliament, Animal Welfare Statement: an update on the government’s progress on animal welfare’, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, 25th May 2023). Compassion in World Farming, hugely regretting the abandonment of the Bill, commented warningly - under a sub-title ‘Uncertain Future’ - that ‘Consequently, all measures under the Kept Animals Bill, will now be individually separated instead, to become possible Private Members Bills in the next Parliamentary year. Whether such Bills will be forthcoming and whether they will carry through before the next election is completely uncertain.’ (‘Government’s Kept Animals Bill Abandoned’, 25th May 2023). 

So, when will there be, and will there be, progress and legislation on two items of such great relevance for sheep?