I looked at that slideshow-- and I ask Where is the WINTER COAT? Otherwise, the surviving sheep seemed to be in "good weight"
I have seen sick, very worm infested woollies-- and they were considered "okay" by local officials. These "starving" sheep in the slideshow just appeared to be lacking a winter coat like those our more acclimated animals grow. If these sheep were recent;ly moved, they may actually need a year or two for their coats to "get with the program" Add to that, the unexpected harshness of the weather-- yes, maybe the animals more likely died of exposure issues rather than starvation- Even the dead carcasses were very "meaty"-- too meaty to have been laying around for any length of time. I would think, with the numbers involved, that the owner was caught unprepared for winter winds, perhaps combined with an unexpected parasite load-- A neighbor of mine lost 48 sheep last spring- Coccidiosis- suddenly and with no warning. If his animals had not had access to sufficiant shelter, they would have had to deal with sudden temperature extremes at the time, as well. We can't just believe everything the media and the supposed 'experts' are saying. Many people think dairy cattle are starving if their hip bones show, when in reality, it just proves they are 'working' for a living. Beef catttle, on the other hand, HAVE to have a round topline- it shows they are producing the muscle needed to be beef! ____________________________________________________________________________________ TV dinner still cooling? Check out "Tonight's Picks" on Yahoo! TV. http://tv.yahoo.com/ _______________________________________________ This message is from the blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
