VILLAFALE (SPAIN) – With the temperatures going up, sheep in Spain are an unhappy lot with their heavy fleece yet to be sheared. In this scenario, a special flight has brought some 250 Uruguayan sheep shearers to give respite to the animals.
The Uruguayan shearers come to Spain every year, where farmers value them for their skills, their speed and particular care for the animals’ wellbeing. This year the coronavirus delayed their arrival by about a month to mid-May, leaving the sheep in urgent need.
Since the shearers from the Latin American nation are prized in Spain, farmers chipped in to charter a plane for them after border closures, flight cancellations and restrictions on movement almost blocked their travel plans.
The farmers, who even sought the help of the Spanish King, convinced the government to authorise their stay after the Uruguayans underwent medical tests before flying.
Federico Ventura is one of the workers who shears around 10,000 sheep over a 70-day campaign in the northern region of Castilla y Leon. They use special machines and an animal restraint technique that further speeds up the process.
“I’ve been coming here for six years. Because of the coronavirus, everything was delayed, but we’re moving at a good pace,” Ventura told Reuters at a farm in Villafale, around 300 kilometres northwest of Madrid.
The Spanish season is crucial to his livelihood.
“With the 70 days here we live for a year in Uruguay.”
Three or four shearers can shear 750 sheep on a farm in just one day, while with less skilled workers it could take up to a month, said Angel Leon, a farm owner. The Uruguayans earn 1.5 euros ($1.68) plus tax per animal.
“Had they not come, we would not have been able to shear,” said farmer Jose Moran, one of those to help fund their flight.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field
