89 Pounds Of Fleece From Rescued Sheep
And it looks as if this lost merino sheep was found just in time:
A lost, overgrown sheep found in Australian scrubland was shorn for perhaps the first time on Thursday, yielding 89 pounds of wool — the equivalent of 30 sweaters — and shedding almost half his body weight.
Tammy Ven Dange, chief executive of the Canberra RSPCA, which rescued the merino ram dubbed Chris, said she hoped to register the 89-pounds fleece with the Guinness World Records. An official of the London-based organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The most wool sheared from a sheep in a single shearing is 63 pounds, 11 ounces taken from a wild New Zealand merino dubbed Big Ben in January last year, the Guinness World Records website said.
“He’s looking really good, he looks like a new man,” Ven Dange said, as the now 97-pound sheep recovered at the Canberra animal refuge. “For one thing, he’s only half the weight he used to be.”
Champion shearer Ian Elkins said the sheep appeared to be in good condition after being separated from his huge fleece under anesthetic.
Chris was found near Mulligans Flat Woodland Sanctuary outside Canberra by bushwalkers who feared he would not survive the approaching southern summer. He was found several miles from the nearest sheep farm. A bushwalker named him Chris after the sheep in the “Father Ted” television comedy series.
Chris was rescued by the RSPCA on Wednesday and taken to Canberra, where he was shorn under anesthetic because he was stressed by human company and because of the potential pain from the heavy fleece tearing skin as it fell away.
Australian sheep shearer Ian Elkins cut more than 80 pounds of wool from sheep that became lost in the wilderness.
Ven Dange said he had suffered skin burns from urine trapped in his fleece and could have died within weeks if left in the wild.
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Copyright 2015 Liberaland
By: dave-dr-gonzo
David Hirsch, a.k.a. Dave "Doctor" Gonzo*, is a renegade record producer, video producer, writer, reformed corporate shill, and still-registered lobbyist for non-one-percenter performing artists and musicians. He lives in a heavily fortified compound in one of Manhattan's less trendy neighborhoods.
* Hirsch is the third person to use the pseudonym, a not-so-veiled tribute to journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson, with the permission of his predecessors Gene Gaudette of American Politics Journal (currently webmaster and chief bottlewasher at Liberaland) and Stephen Meese at Smashmouth Politics.
12 responses to 89 Pounds Of Fleece From Rescued Sheep
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Mike September 3rd, 2015 at 22:01
Pretty cool how that guy sheared that sheep…came off like an overcoat.
When it comes to fleecing sheep, Huckafuck is still the best in my book.
nola878 September 3rd, 2015 at 22:10
“When it comes to fleecing sheep, Huckafuck is still the best in my book.”
And that says a lot, considering the competition….Palin, Trump, Robertson, etc., etc.
rg9rts September 4th, 2015 at 04:48
Not the merino variety …but rather the morono
tracey marie September 3rd, 2015 at 22:12
Stop breeding animals to satisfy our thirst for textiles.
Hirightnow September 3rd, 2015 at 23:23
Was asked by a customer (I was an alarm installer at the time) if I knew how to clip a dog.
Said “Yes”.
(Their dog was a Shitzu who had, apparently NEVER been clipped, at least 2 years old)
She bit, she cried…she smelled awful, and the fur was disgustingly sticky.
She jumped in my lap thirty minutes later.
Closest I have ever come to dognapping.
rg9rts September 4th, 2015 at 04:47
You should have,,,,
rg9rts September 4th, 2015 at 04:46
Saved in the nick of time
anothertoothpick September 4th, 2015 at 07:53
Animal rescue is one of the things humans do (sometimes) right.
I know a family that owns a “Cowboy Town” in Northern Illinois. It is a petting zoo, has a western street, a arena where they put on a cowboy show, (they use the local college kids as actors) all that kind of thing
We ride our motorcycles up there once in a while to grab a beer and shoot the shit. I noticed a donkey walking around freely. His name was Jasper. The kids loved Jasper and he was the king of the town. He wasn’t chained or behind a fence he just walked around and seemed to love all the kids attention.
I found out that Jasper was being abused on a farm out there and the local vet asked if the my friend would take care of him.
I still think about that story and tell it every chance I get.
anothertoothpick September 4th, 2015 at 07:40
So what did these animals do before we started shearing them? Where’s Larry on this one?
Um Cara September 4th, 2015 at 10:11
I was wondering the same, my guess is that the wild versions of these domesticated critters were selectively bred for wool production to the point that they are unable to survive w/o human intervention.
anothertoothpick September 4th, 2015 at 10:15
Thanks for that Um Cara.
It is amazing, huh, how truly human history is linked to animal history. Kinda like we are all in this together kind of thing.
maggie September 4th, 2015 at 16:41
someone please give the animal rescue people who saved this poor sheep some money….;) they did it out of love and compassion….lets not forget to economically support those who do….