Flock of 25 sheep killed in 'monstrous' attacks in Northamptonshire

9 September 2019

A further 25 sheep have been found dead in a county where at least 143 have been illegally slaughtered this year.

The discovery was made at 08:00 BST in a field near Thornby, about 11 miles (17.7km) north of Northampton.

Northamptonshire Police said the pace of its investigation into this "monstrous" spate of killings was "unrelenting".

The force repeated its recent warning that illegally butchered meat may not be safe to eat.

Insp Tracy Moore said: "Unsurprisingly, the owner of these sheep is devastated and my officers are working around the clock to bring whoever is responsible for these monstrous acts to justice.

"The pace of this investigation is unrelenting and proactive officers continue to patrol the county's rural areas both day and night.

"We remain concerned about illegal meat entering the human food chain, as recent use of veterinary medication could mean it's unfit for human consumption."

Police urged anyone who has been offered cheap meat in suspicious circumstances to contact them and to only buy from reputable outlets.

Continued

Wool odour could be key to protecting sheep from flystrike

JULY 22, 2019

by University of Western Australia

Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A global research project led by The University of Western Australia in collaboration with the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development Western Australia has identified compounds in Merino sheep wool that are attractive to Australian blowflies.

The discovery, published in Medical and Veterinary Entomology, could help breeders develop fly-resistant flocks of sheep, which will improve animal welfare and productivity.

Professor Phil Vercoe from the UWA Institute of Agriculture and UWA School of Agriculture and Environment said the findings could help to prevent flystrike, a distressing disease caused by blowflies which poses a significant health risk to sheep.

"This research is a step in the right direction towards the development of more clean, green and ethical approaches to preventing flystrike," Professor Vercoe said.

"If future studies find that the wool odor is inherited, then the compounds we've identified could lead to a more effective way to breed sheep that are resistant to flystrike.

Read on

Spain alarmed by French bear's attacks on sheep

17 May 2019

A female brown bear released in the French Pyrenees has killed eight sheep in Spain, prompting emergency talks between the two countries.

Claverina is now roaming through the mountains of Navarre, having crossed from Béarn in south-western France.

Spanish environmental officials are meeting French counterparts. Some sheep are now wearing tracking devices and there are plans to deploy guard dogs.

Claverina and another female brown bear were brought over from Slovenia.

They were reintroduced in Béarn last October, because the bear population in that region is tiny - there are just two others, both male.

It is a controversial policy - there have been protests by some shepherds in both France and Spain.

Alpine Slovenia has more than 500 brown bears and is helping the French National Hunting and Wildlife Agency (ONCFS) to reintroduce the mammals to the Pyrenees, where their numbers shrank because of hunting.

Read more

Experts disagree with prior study that claimed sheep have face-recognition abilities comparable to humans

January 23, 2019 by Bob Yirka, Phys.org report

A team of facial recognition experts from the University of New South Wales, Newcastle University and the University of York has published a Comment piece in the journal Royal Society Open Science challenging claims made by another research team. In their paper, they acknowledge that the findings of a team last year regarding the facial recognition abilities of sheep was compelling, but they take issue with the claim that the research showed that sheep have facial recognition abilities comparable to humans.

Humans have very strong facial recognition skills conferring the ability to pick out the faces of friends in a crowd with no problem, for example. Thus, it came as quite a surprise when a team of researchers in 2017 claimed in a published paper that sheep have facial recognition skills that were comparable to humans. In their rebuttal, the authors suggest that the evidence reported by the researchers was insufficient to make such a claim and outline the reasons.

The authors note that the sheep in the study learned to recognize just four faces—all celebrities. The sheep were shown different pictures of the celebrities over the course of three training sessions. Afterward, they were shown a picture of one of the celebrities and chose which of another set was the same person. The sheep were able to pick the right one on average 79 percent of the time when shown identical pictures of the celebrity, and 66 percent of the time when shown a different picture. The authors acknowledge the numbers showed that the sheep were recognizing the people in the images, not just the image. But they also point out that claiming such a finding proves skills comparable to humans is not logical.

Read more at: 

Oldest evidence of dairying on the East Asian Steppe

Dairying of cattle, sheep, and goats was established in northern Mongolia by 1300 BC

Date:  November 5, 2018

Source:  Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History

Although dairy pastoralism once made Mongolian steppe herders successful enough to conquer most of Asia and Europe, the origins of this way of life on the East Asian steppe are still unclear. Now an international team of researchers led by the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History has uncovered evidence that dairying arrived in Mongolia as early as 1300 BC through a process of cultural transmission rather than population replacement or migration.

Two thousand years before the armies of Ghengis Khan, populations in Mongolia were already living a pastoralist, dairying lifestyle -- similar to that which would enable future populations to conquer most of Asia and Europe. Although pastoralism has long been the primary means of subsistence on the East Asian steppe, the origins of this tradition have been unclear. Now, an international team of researchers has uncovered the earliest direct evidence to date of dairying in Mongolia -- around 1300 BC -- by tracking milk proteins preserved in tooth tartar. The livestock that were milked -- cattle, sheep and goats -- are not native to the region and were likely introduced by Western Steppe herders. However, ancient DNA evidence from Bronze Age Mongolians indicates minimal genetic contributions from Western Steppe herders, suggesting that the livestock and dairying technologies were transferred by cultural processes rather than a major population migration, in contrast to the pattern seen in Europe. The findings are published in PNAS.

Read on  

Sheep 'can recognise human faces'

By Paul RinconScience editor, BBC News website

8 November 2017

Sheep have demonstrated the ability to recognise familiar human faces, according to a study.

Cambridge University researchers were able to train sheep to identify the faces of actors Jake Gyllenhaal and Emma Watson, former US President Barack Obama and BBC newsreader Fiona Bruce.

After training, the sheep chose photos of familiar faces over unfamiliar ones significantly more often than not.

It shows that sheep possess similar face recognition abilities to primates.

Previous studies had shown that sheep could identify other sheep and human handlers that they already knew.

"What we did is ask whether a sheep could learn to recognise someone from a photograph," the study's lead author Prof Jenny Morton said.

"We focused on whether or not an animal was capable of processing a two-dimensional object as a person."

Continued  

New species from the Pliocene of Tibet reveals origin of ice age mountain sheep

Date: May 11, 2016

Source: Chinese Academy of Sciences Headquarters

Paleontologists reports a new genus and species of fossil sheep from the Pliocene of Zanda Basin in Tibet. This finding extends the fossil record for the sheep into the Pliocene of the Tibetan Plateau, suggesting that the Tibetan Plateau, possibly including Tianshan-Altai, represents the ancestral home range(s) of mountain sheep and that these basal stocks were the ultimate source of all extant species, which is consistent with the out-of-Tibet hypothesis regarding the origins of ice age megaherbivores.

Modern wild sheep, Ovis, is widespread in the mountain ranges of the Caucasus through Himalaya, Tibetan Plateau, Tianshan-Altai, eastern Siberia, and the Rocky Mountains in North America. In Eurasia, fossil sheep are known by a few isolated records at a few Pleistocene sites in North China, eastern Siberia, and western Europe, but are so far absent from the Tibetan Plateau.

In a paper published May 4 in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, paleontologists from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and La Brea Tar Pits and Museum at Los Angeles reported a new genus and species of fossil sheep from the Pliocene of Zanda Basin in Tibet. This finding extends the fossil record for the sheep into the Pliocene of the Tibetan Plateau, suggesting that the Tibetan Plateau, possibly including Tianshan-Altai, represents the ancestral home range(s) of mountain sheep and that these basal stocks were the ultimate source of all extant species, which is consistent with the Out-of-Tibet hypothesis regarding the origins of Ice Age megaherbivores.

New fossil materials were collected from IVPP locality ZD0712 in Guanjingtai, Zanda County, Tibetan Autonomous Region in western Himalaya during the 2006 and 2007 field seasons. The holotype specimen (IVPP V18928), forming the main basis of this new species, is a nearly complete male left and right horncores. With a total horncore upper curve length of 443 mm, it is similar in size to some extant species of Ovis.

Continued ...

'Virgin' sheep gives birth to twin lambs as farmer hails 'Christmas miracle'

11:00, 25 DEC 2015

UPDATED 16:57, 25 DEC 2015

BY RICHARD WHEATSTONE

Shirley the ewe hadn't shown any sign of mating with a ram and a recent ultrasound scan gave no indication she was pregnant

SWNS

A farmer believes he has witnessed a Christmas miracle after his 'virgin' sheep gave birth to twin lambs.

Shirley the ewe hadn't shown any sign of mating with a ram and a recent ultrasound scan gave no indication she was pregnant .

Staff at White Post Farm in Farnsfield, Nottinghamshire, were stunned to discover the two newborn when they arrived for work on December 23.

Anthony Moore, from White Post Farm, said: "It is a Christmas miracle.

"The ewe hadn't been marked and the ultrasound was negative so it was a surprise to everyone.

"There was no evidence she was pregnant so it was pretty unusual. Both lambs are doing really well.

"The farm is buzzing with new life and festive cheer at the moment and this is the icing on the Christmas cake."

Continued ...

Mimicry helps sheep solve a dilemma

Date: October 2, 2015

Source: CNRS (Délégation Paris Michel-Ange)

Imitation behaviors play a key role in many collective phenomena seen in animals. An analysis of the collective movements of grazing sheep has revealed that sheep alternate slow dispersion phases with very fast regrouping, in which they imitate the behavior of their neighbors. This study, conducted by researchers from the CNRS, CEA, and the Universities of Aberdeen, Nice Sophia Antipolis and Toulouse III -- Paul Sabatier, was published on September 28, 2015 in the journal PNAS. It shows that the intensity with which the sheep mimic one another plays a crucial role in the ability of a herd to maximize the grazing area explored while minimizing the time needed to regroup when faced with potential dangers.

Many animal species live in groups, such as shoals of fish and herds of animals. This lifestyle offers many benefits to individuals by increasing protection against predator attacks. It can also sometimes vastly improve the efficiency of foraging for food. In these groups of animals, imitation behaviors are the cornerstone of many collective phenomena. However, individuals do not imitate one another constantly or at the same intensity over time, which has the effect of increasing the complexity of collective behaviors. Group behaviors are determined by the importance with which each animal treats the behavior of its neighbors relative to its own motivations. Knowing how these two types of influences combine to determine the decisions of each individual within a group is crucial for understanding the complex dynamics of many collective phenomena, not only in animals but also in humans.

Continued ...

Reintroducing lynx to Scotland would put sheep at risk, Norwegian farmers warn

Delegation says large predators can cause serious consequences for farmers

CHRIS GREEN

SCOTLAND EDITOR 

Tuesday 15 September 2015

The reintroduction of lynx and other large predators to parts of Scotland could lead to a rise in the number of sheep being killed and eaten, carrying serious consequences for farmers, a visiting delegation from Norway has warned.

During a trip to Scotland, representatives from the Norwegian Farmers’ Union said their country’s population of wolves, wolverine, lynx and bears posed a constant threat to livestock and had resulted in “huge losses” in some herds of sheep and cattle.

“Norwegians are worried on behalf of Scottish farmers if carnivores are to be introduced here. We worry for the future of their sheep farming and feel sorry for them,” said the union’s vice-president Kristin Ianssen. “We have a long border with Sweden to the east so we will always experience roaming carnivores in our country – it would be impossible to control. But Scotland and the UK is an island, you can decide for yourselves.”

Continued ...

Spanish shepherds guide 2,000 sheep across Madrid

MADRID (AP) — Shepherds guided a flock of 2,000 sheep through Madrid's streets on Sunday in defense of ancient grazing, droving and migration rights increasingly threatened by urban sprawl and modern agricultural practices.

Tourists and city-dwellers were surprised to see the capital's traffic cut to permit the bleating, bell-clanking parade to pass the city's most emblematic locations.

Shepherds halted at the old town hall so the chief herdsman could hand authorities 25 maravedies — copper coins first minted in the 11th century — as payment for the crossing.

They then continued past Puerta del Sol — Madrid's equivalent of New York's Times Square — and past the Bank of Spain headquarters on their way to Retiro Park.

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Gene study shows how sheep first separated from goats

Date:
June 5, 2014

Source:
University of Edinburgh

Summary:
Scientists have cracked the genetic code of sheep to reveal how they became a distinct species from goats around four million years ago. The study is the first to pinpoint the genetic differences that make sheep different from other animals.


Continued

Australian sheep kill themselves after becoming ‘heroin addicts’

Hundreds of Australian sheep addicted to a poison plant have died, with some even killing themselves.

The addicted sheep act as if drunk, lose weight, drag their hind feet and become depressed.

The most heart-breaking behaviour reported was of sheep bashing their heads repeatedly on posts till they cracked their heads open.

Some 800 sheep have been reported dead from one New South Wales sheep farm due to the poisonous weed, known as Darling Pea.

This outbreak of the plant is blamed on the most recent bush fires which has devastated the province.

The only option for farmers with addicted sheep is to separate the animals from the plant and allow their central nervous system to recover.

However, some of the affected sheep are too far gone and there is no hope for these depressed and physically weakened sheep.

Continued

If you’ve ever wondered what a goat/sheep lovechild would look like, today is your lucky day

By Will LernerApril 4, 2014 2:34 PM

Today we take you to the fair nation of Ireland, where a farmer has a curious new addition to his farm – a geep. Geeps are the offspring of goats and sheep, and though the term is usually attributed to goat-sheep hybrids that have been artificially created, the term is also often applied to the naturally born ones as well. Paddy Murphy of Kildare told the Irish Farmers Journal all about the little fella.

A few months ago, Mr. Murphy had noticed from afar what he thought appeared to be a goat…being amorous…with his sheep. He told Irish Farmers Journal, “I came home then and I was asking a few lads, and they said nothing had happened. Here we are now, five months later this is the progeny of a goat out of a Cheviot (a breed of small sheep) ewe.”

The geep, who doesn’t have a name yet, was born about a week ago and seems to be perfectly healthy. Murphy told RTÉ News, that his farm’s new addition is “absolutely thriving,” and that, “He’s running around a lot quicker than the other lambs which were born.” He also noted that his mother’s love is unwavering despite his odd appearance, “The ewe has taken to him like he’s just another lamb. There’s no difference in how he’s been reared.”

Continued

Ireland Needs Sheep For 'Shearing Olympics'

Posted: 03/24/2014 8:31 am EDT Updated: 03/24/2014 8:59 am EDT

DUBLIN (AP) — Do you own a shaggy sheep? Ireland needs ewes.

The Irish require at least 6,000 sheep as hosts of this year's Golden Shears World Championships. But they're more than 1,000 short with just weeks to go before an event dubbed "the Olympics of sheep shearing."

Organizers said Monday they need ewes, aged 12 to 14 months, to ensure that all competitors are supplied similarly shaped sheep. Prices for such animals in Ireland are running high, and farmers are under pressure to sell them before the May 22 start of the four-day competition in Gorey, south of Dublin.

This year's event features competitors from 38 countries from China to Chile, including defending champion shearer Gavin Mutch of Scotland. Ireland previously hosted the 37-year-old contest in 1998.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/24/ireland-needs-sheep_n_5020513.html?utm_hp_ref=weird-news

Fungus Kills Ticks

Nov. 12, 2013 — Ticks may be facing a dangerous fate. In the TICLESS project, Bioforsk, the Norwegian Institute for Agricultural and Environmental Research, is hoping to determine whether fungus can kill ticks in sheep pastures. This would also benefit future hikers.

Tick ​​bites in sheep can lead to the disease tick-borne fever (TBF), which causes high fever and weakens the immune system. As a result of TBF, animals may become seriously ill from diseases they usually cope with. Bioforsk is therefore conducting field trials where the aim is to reduce tick populations in sheep grazing areas by using a tick pathogenic fungus calledMetarhizium. Metarhizium occurs naturally in Norwegian soil and in the soils of many other countries worldwide where it has the potential to infect and kill ticks. When living organisms or "natural enemies" of a pest are utilized in order to reduce pest population levels, this is known as biological control.

Read on

Ticks Kill Sheep

Nov. 12, 2013 — In some lamb herds, a mortality rate of 30 percent has been recorded, albeit, no predators have been involved in these losses. The situation is so serious that the sheep industry could be under threat. It is therefore crucial to identify the causes and implement preventative measures. The answer may be found somewhere within the genetics of the sheep and the course of the disease, assessment and control of tick populations and biological control of ticks.

Weakens the immune system

Tick-bites in sheep may result in the disease tick-borne fever (TBF), induced by the bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum (A.ph). TBF causes high fever and weakens the immune system.

"It is estimated that approximately 300,000 lambs are exposed to this bacteria each year. However, they do not necessarily die from the infection," says tick researcher Lise Grøva at Bioforsk Organic at Tingvoll in Norway.

Continued

Glow-in-the-dark Sheep: Genetically Modified At Uruguay Lab [VIDEO]

Scientists in Uruguay have genetically modified sheep to glow in the dark. The fluorescent sheep are a world first, the scientists report.

The flock of nine lambs was born last October at a farm belonging to the Animal Reproduction Institute of Uruguay, an nonprofit organization affiliated with the Pasteur Institute's genetically modified animals unit. The laboratory incorporated a green fluorescence protein into the genes of the sheep, which will glow when exposed to certain ultraviolet light, making the the ruminants easily identifiable as genetically modified.

Other than glowing green in UV light, the sheep look and behave normally. Scientists modified the sheep's genes with the fluorescent protein of the Aequarea jellyfish.

"We did not use a protein of medical interest or to help with a particular medicine because we wanted to fine-tune the technique. We used the green protein because the color is easily identifiable in the sheep's tissues," said Alejo Menchaca, the head of the research team.

Continued: http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/1627/20130427/glow-dark-sheep-genetically-modified-uruguay-lab-video.htm

Battenberg the black and white sheep shocks farmers with two-tone face

A black and white sheep named after a Battenberg cake because of his two-toned face has shocked a family of farmers. 

The lamb has a unique face, with one half light and the other dark, which may have saved it from freezing to death in the Welsh hills because it was easier to spot. 

‘We haven’t seen a lamb like it before,’ said farmer’s wife Marianne Griffiths. 

‘You either get a white lamb or a black one – but not a half-and-half one.’

Battenberg’s strange tone, similar to the two colours present in the cake of the same name, may again prevent it from an early grave. 

The sheep could now be kept on as a pet instead of being turned into a lamb dish. 

Mum-of-three Marianne, 44, added: ‘Battenberg is a real mixture which is a surprise because both his mother and father are white. 

‘He was born while we were having a tough time of it during the terrible snow that fell in March. 

‘We were going out into the fields and seeing dead sheep and new-born lambs.’ 

The four-week-old sheep has legs that are also a mixture of black and white, with its wool a greyish colour. 

http://metro.co.uk/2013/05/04/battenberg-the-black-and-white-sheep-shocks-farmers-with-his-two-tones-3712803/

Pregnant sheep survives 11 days under snow at Scottish farm

By Jimmy Nsubuga 

A pregnant sheep who survived 11 days buried under snow at a farm in south west Scotland is on the road to recovery.

The animal is already walking around and eating after its ordeal and was one of only four sheep that managed to survive.

A pregnant sheep who survived 11 days buried under snow at a farm in south west Scotland is on the road to recovery.

The animal is already walking around and eating after its ordeal and was one of only four sheep that managed to survive.

It has even gained some notoriety for managing to stay alive, with thousands of Facebook users ‘liking’ a post that brought news of its amazing feat.

Young farmer Stuart Mactier spoke of his excitement at finding the ewe alive.

He said on Facebook: ‘Just dug her out, 11 days completely buried in snow, still alert, unbelievable.’

The 19-year-old from Boghouse Farm, near Wigtown, added: ‘We actually pulled out four and two were alive. But one didn’t pull through.

‘Surprisingly this one was the liveliest out of any that we had freed.

‘We put a jacket on it and then covered it with a blanket, before giving it some Acetona. It’s like an energy drink for animals.’

http://metro.co.uk/2013/04/06/pregnant-sheep-survives-11-days-under-snow-at-scottish-farm-3585551/