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Saturday 7 October 2017

The sheep races


Among the events at Masham Sheep Fair are the sheep races. Four sheep are enticed along a run, with the promise of some food. They all have ribbons and there is a sweepstake, betting on which sheep will reach the food trough first. It's a light-hearted way of raising money for charity.

However, there has been a petition raised by animal rights activists (who have probably never even seen the 'races') to have them banned as being cruel. To be honest, the sheep didn't look in the least uncomfortable or frightened to me. The crowd weren't roaring noisily and the animals were just running after the food, which I have often seen them do in the fields when the farmer arrives with the buckets. 'They don't know they're racing. They aren't actually racing. They're just trotting for some food.' It's hardly bull-running, as the local paper pointed out. They don't get stabbed at the end!

6 comments:

  1. If I were a sheep there would be many things that human beings do which would have me worried: turning me into chops would be just one of them. Trotting a little way for my dinner would be lower down on the list.

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  2. Love the names! Shorn Connery! How about Ewe-di Dench? Or Lamb Neeson?

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  3. I don't think that rates as something to be concerned about. I wonder what the sheep think of it.

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  4. Judging by the names those were celebrity sheep!

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  5. There are so many things to worry about in today's world. Sheep trotting after a bucket of food is not on that list.

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