To the uninitiated it sounds like a late April Fool joke, yet the advent of the ‘self-shearing sheep’ is upon us and filling the column inches in the national press this morning.
The Daily Mirror, Daily Express, the Sun, Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail have all spoken to NFU member, 2007 sheep farmer of the year and ex-chairman of the National Sheep Association, Peter Baber, who farms near Exeter. Mr Baber, 54, is one of nine farmers in the South West breeding the Exlana, which moults its felt-like wool at springtime and could save around £8 per animal in shearing costs. Its genetic forbearers include the Barbados Blackbelly and St Croix varieties.
The wool, which is shorter and more sparse than a traditional British sheep, begins shedding around the animal's neck and legs, often leaving a temporary patch in the middle. Where a normal sheep would produce up to 20lb, the Exlana (from the Latin 'used to have wool') yields just 1lb.
Mr Baber told the Express: “It’s changed the way we work. We used to spend hours shearing in the spring, but the value of wool has reduced so much that it’s just no longer economically viable. There are breeds around the world which shed naturally, so we imported the genetics to starts breeding. Now we have thousands of wool-shedding sheep.”
Dr Duncan Pullar, the Head of Research and Development at EBLEX, said: "In modern English sheep production wool is more often viewed as a nuisance than a valuable product, as the cost of removing the fleece each year outweighs the value.
"EBLEX has reviewed the genetics of shedding and understands that self-shearing sheep have potential benefits for farmers because they save cost and improve animal welfare by reducing the risk of flystrike. Shedding sheep still have to produce lamb profitably, which can be achieved using existing meaty breeds crossed with shedding breeds. Further improvements to growth rate and carcase yield would benefit profitability.”
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