UK farmers join forces to save Balkan sheep
24th October 2024
A group of UK farmers have launched a fundraising campaign to buy shearing equipment for Balkan farmers who are struggling to shear their sheep, which is leading to animal welfare concerns.
Lack of skills, money and shearers in Western Balkan countries means that some of the region’s six million sheep do not get their wool removed each year, which can cause them to overheat and die in the summer months.
A world-wide shortage of sheep shearers is adding to the problem as shearers take more lucrative work in places like Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
A group of skilled shearers, Hand2Shear, have launched a campaign to buy a mobile shearing trailer and equipment, enabling them to reach sheep in remote areas that have no shearing infrastructure or electricity.
Sheep shearing is incredibly beneficial for sheep. Shearing helps keep the sheep cool during the summer months and it promotes healthy growth of their coats for winter.
— Hand2Shear (@Hand2Shear) October 20, 2024
Mistakes can hurt sheep, which is why our shearers are intensely focused on what we’re doing to keep the… pic.twitter.com/lnSswH8YBi
Crucial to a sheep’s health and wellbeing
The trailer, which is custom-made in the UK, will make it easier to shear rare and remote sheep that are being missed in the mountains, as well as provide a safe working environment and better conditions for shearers, the founders explained.
Over the past few years, Hand2Shear has been working closely with farmers in Western Balkan countries to train them on how to shear their small flocks of sheep with modern techniques rather than using old-fashioned hand shears and scissors.
Sheep need to be sheared each year, as it is crucial to a sheep’s health and wellbeing. As well as overheating in the summer, they are also prone to parasites like ticks, lice and maggots that cause deadly fly strike. Shearing helps provide prevention and treatment from these infestations.
Saving sheep for future generations
Devon shearer, Daniel Floyd, who is leading the fundraiser, said: “I started Hand2Shear in 2018, while shearing in the Balkan countries. I noticed they didn’t have the infrastructure or funds to shear.
“These are countries that have the original sheep, small flocks of rare breeds, and they need to be sheared. With a trailer, we can reach these remote mountain sheep and take their fleeces off. It’s critical to save these species for future generations.”
The fundraisers also explained that sheep are key to the Balkan economy. Their sheep are distinct from the breeds in surrounding region. Historically the Balkans and Italy were the original hubs from which sheep dispersed over the rest of Europe.
Rare and endangered breeds are now protected in Croatia and Slovenia but will be lost if welfare measures like shearing are not put in place to protect them.
Hand2Shear are hoping to raise £27,000 for the four-person trailer and equipment so they can shear up to 50,000 sheep every three months during the shearing season. The trailer will also be used to train Balkan farmers on how to shear.
Balkan farmer Marco Orlić added: “We need to rely on British shearers to help us. There just aren’t enough here.
“Our small flocks of rare breeds get so heavy with wool, which can trap a lot of heat in a sheep’s body – and this makes them weak and vulnerable to predators like wolves and bears”.
Hand2Shear, who are a skilled team of shearers, have been working closely with farmers in the western Balkans since 2018. Now they would also like to encourage people in the UK to take up shearing as a career.
Click here to support the fundraising.
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