Sir Paul McCartney criticised for natural approach to sheep welfare
Sir Paul McCartney has apologised for how his sheep look – as they live to be so old on his farm, writes Rosemary Allen.
I've searched the internet but could only find two pictures of him with sheep. One was very old – the picture I mean. It was of Paul, Linda and a lamb, which he was cuddling. The other was of him holding a Blackfaced ram, presumably another old picture. I can't imagine him needing a ram because, if he's breeding sheep these days, his farm would be overrun with them if he keeps them till they die.
The whole ethos of leaving them to die of old age is very strange to me and doesn't sit comfortably with Defra's rules on sheep welfare, or with the RSPCA, for that matter. Anyone who has kept sheep will know that they have to be vaccinated and wormed. They have to be dipped, have their feet trimmed – in fact a raft of 'unnatural' practices.
If they're not vaccinated they will die of diseases and, if they are not wormed, they will waste away with a belly full of parasites. Dipping and feet trimming deal with external parasites, like maggots.
If he is not breeding them these days, his flock, by definition, must be dwindling through natural causes but if he is breeding replacements, does he leave all that to nature, too? What about the selection of rams, the castration of the ram lambs to avoid in-breeding and the supervision at lambing in case the ewes have problems?
If a ewe dies at lambing, does he leave it to nature to provide for the lamb, or will he bottle-feed it? This will entail him force-feeding it as it will resist, not only the strange rubber teat, but the handling.
I'm afraid nothing is as lovely and simple as Sir Paul would like it to be. This isn't about the reasons or ethics of vegetarianism – each person has the right to make that choice. I am just addressing Sir Paul's ability through his fame and media access to subliminally defame the farming industry and all the hardworking and genuinely caring farmers.
He influences people's choices without, in my opinion, giving all the arguments. I suggest he leaves farming alone and sticks to writing songs.
* Rosemary Allen, a retired livestock farmer now living near Ellesmere with her husband Peter, is part of CowCash-UK
