Wrinkles

The farmer looked at me, Jim Beam and Coke in hand, and smirked whilst he said, “Yeah, the rest was butchered this morning'”. As he said this, there was a chill in the air. I looked at the little lamb eating tiny strands of brown grass he was trying to find amongst the junk yard of this man’s so called “farm”. This lamb who had escaped the “butchering” was tiny. Way too small for a three month  old lamb. I asked why he was so small and got a shrug in response. I later found out that because this little lamb had been orphaned, he had to be bottle fed. Instead of spending money on formula to feed this lamb for four months, they weaned him before two months old. This would have affected his growth at such a young age. This sweet little lamb was so friendly. He walked up to me and sniffed my face. I somehow had to get him out of there and take him home. The only future for him at this dilapidated farm was death. I put the job of talking the farmer around to J. After half an hour of talking to this farmer, J looked at me and nodded his head. We bundled this little boy into the car as quick as lightning.

On his way to his new home.

He was covered in in his poo, was full of worms, had had his tail docked by the use of a band and also had a band around his testicles, which is a standard method of castration in Australia.

These are the standard methods of lamb castration in this country:

“1-Surgical removal of the testicles involves cutting off the bottom one-third of the scrotum with a sharp sterilised lamb-marking knife. The testicles are then exposed (by squeezing the remaining portion of the scrotum with the thumb and index finger) and removed with a clamp or hook on the end of the knife.

2-The elastrator method involves the use of a rubber ring, which is expanded using a pair of special pliers and placed over the scrotum just above the testicles. The ring blocks blood circulation, causing the scrotum and testicles to eventually wither and fall off. It induces the same effect when placed on the tail.”

Both methods are done without any pain relief of any kind. If these castrating and tail docking methods were applied to dogs and cats in this country, there would be an outcry of animal cruelty. Just because they are farm animals, it does not mean they do not feel pain.

We got him home and he was named “Wrinkles”. He was quite sickly, so he lived in the house paddock for two to three weeks whilst we treated him. He was castrated at the vets with anaesthetic and antibiotics administered. He slept at the back door mat at nights and followed us around like a dog during the days. Wrinkles is one of the sweetest lambs we have ever encountered. His nature is very similar to our Lefty’s who we miss dearly. He loves people and absolutely adores being patted. He became incredibly spoilt living in the house paddock with us and had J wrapped around his little finger.

Wrinkles would baa for the gate to be opened and J would come running.

The day arrived where it was time for him to join the flock. His first night out with the other sheep he baa-ed and cried all night long. Limpy gave him quite a hard time and bullied him for the first week or so until Righty stepped in (as father figures often do) and took charge of the situation. Wrinkles now follows Righty everywhere. He sleeps next to Righty. Grazes next to Righty and learns important sheep lessons from Righty.

He’ll never be a big sheep, but he will be a sheep who gets to live out his life, unlike so many others who are eaten every single day.

Please don’t use my images without permission. All images are Copyright Tamara Kenneally

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A one year $50 sponsorship helps keep Wrinkles healthy and happy.

It ensures Wrinkles has the things he loves every single day! Things like sheep nuts, Vita Weats, mineral licks and lots of extra food to help his little body grow!

YOUR ONE YEAR SPONSORSHIP ENTITLES YOU TO:

*One sponsorship certificate.

*Three 5×7 inch prints of Wrinkles being the most adorable sheep in the world.

*An email from Wrinkles during the year letting you know what he’s been up to.

CLICK ON THE PHOTO BELOW TO SPONSOR WRINKLES!