September 2012

Choosing a new ram is one of the biggest decisions in the flock master’s year. In a small pedigree flock like ours, the ram contributes 50% of the flock’s genetics, so, as well as being ‘correct’ in all aspects of the breed standards, he must bring some very special qualities that will improve on what we already have. He must also be manageable and have a certain something that catches and holds the eye. It goes without saying that he must also be fit, healthy and have libido!

Before we even started searching, I had it in mind to get a ram lamb from one of the Hampshire Down breed’s high-performing flocks: Henry Derryman’s Yarcombe flock in Honiton, Devon. I’d always admired his sheep and some years ago he imported some New Zealand bloodlines, which have given them a fantastic length of body (meaning good, meaty chops!). So in late September we drove down to make our selection – and what a choice we had! Henry had brought all the rams into his stock shed for us to view, about 30 in all. My initial thought was, “They all look amazing, how on earth do we select one from this bunch?” but after a while a few started to catch my eye, so we penned the ones that I liked the look of, and then went through the bunch.

Eventually, Robin and I agreed on one outstanding ram lamb, who was born in December 2011: he was correct in every way, stood well, and… well, we liked him! His breeding and EBVs are excellent, and he was born as a twin, so likely to father twins himself. He’ll join our ewes in mid-November, and we’ll look forward to seeing his first progeny next April. Following his quarantine treatments on arrival, he’ll now be in kept in a small paddock for the next month with two of this year’s ram lambs that are destined for the freezer; although he’s the picture of health, it’s never worth taking any chances when bringing new animals into the flock.

Oh, I nearly forgot, we named him Yarcombe Maximus – a name to live up to!

At home, we’d already made some decisions about the ewe flock. This is one of the hardest jobs, as inevitably it means saying goodbye to some of the older ewes who have served us well in the past. Early autumn is the time for the final decisions to be made so that we can concentrate on getting the breeding flock fit for tupping in mid-November for mid-April lambing.

Some years ago we took a bunch of older ewes to market, but having seen the massive triple-decker livestock lorries lined up outside, we decided that we’d prefer to take them directly to our small, local abattoir, rather than abandon them to an unknown fate. An increasing number of sheep, especially older ewes, are now slaughtered by Halal or Kosher no-stun methods, whether destined for the ethnic market or not… but perhaps the ethics of modes of slaughter should be saved for another day!

Meanwhile, my attention was caught this week by a news item on the radio: the Swedish Parliament has announced its intention to initiate a cull of wolves. Once numerous, by the 1960s the wolf was believed to be extinct in Sweden – but by the 1980s the population had begun to recover, starting with individuals believed to have migrated from Finland. Now a protected species, the population has grown and farmers are loosing livestock to wolf attacks, despite having spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the construction and maintenance of predator fences.

A quick visit to the web site of the Timber Wolf Information Network revealed that France has similar plans to reduce numbers of wolves due to attacks on sheep and goats. This all sounds very familiar, with the impending badger pilot culls in England – whilst badgers obviously don’t attack livestock, there is strong evidence that they contribute to the spread of Bovine TB (bTB) in cattle, and other species, both farmed and in the wild.

In Sweden and France, as in England, there are strong opinions on both sides: those vehemently against culling wildlife, and those who deem it necessary to enable farming to continue, which it must if we are to feed our growing human populations.

Inevitably, as human populations expands into territories that were previously wild, there will be increasing conflict worldwide between man’s interests – be they farming, housing, industry or leisure – and the preservation of wildlife in its natural habitat. If it’s beyond our wit to realise how vital these thing are to our humanity, and to find a way to co-exist, then perhaps we should relinquish the right to be called Homo Sapiens.