Comments on: Ernie Gets Sheared- a short film by Linda Campbell

By: Jan

Jan — Mon, 11 May 2009 23:07:32 +0000

My son is learning to shear sheep–he figures it is a good part-time job to help with college expenses because there will always be a need as long as there are sheep. The hardest sheep to shear are often yearlings who are getting their first haircut–they wiggle and squirm. I think that the shears must tickle a bit. The best part is watching the sheep after they have been sheared–sometimes they will leap and play just like lambs in the spring. I guess that if you had a haircut that relieved you of 10-14 lbs of hair, you would be leaping in joy too!

By: Cathi

Cathi — Mon, 11 May 2009 20:58:31 +0000

Great video! Great shearer! Always amazes me the transformation when a sheep gets tipped over to get sheared. They just calmly lay there until it’s over – even the biggest, “baddest” rams.

By: Rona Thau

Rona Thau — Mon, 11 May 2009 05:18:55 +0000

linda,
thank you for the video.
very impressive job jeff did
both handling and shearing ernie.
even at the end, he was coddling him and ernie looked quite happy

i handle my dog sometimes in a similar way to maneuver her around my bed

a lot of love was visible
i didn’t see any mishandling or disregard for ernie
i saw a lot of gentleness and finesse and love

thanks for posting
thanks for caring for and loving your animals and treating them like your kids
i know u do.
love
rona

By: Brianna

Brianna — Mon, 11 May 2009 04:00:51 +0000

I am amazed that any animal could be so calm during shearing especially with the noise and the proximity to his face. I have owned fully domesticated indoor cats that scream bloody murder just being brushed, even though I know they felt better afterwards and I believe this video is a testament to the skill of the shearer that the only time Ernie even moved was what appeared to be playful pawing while on his back. I have seen hoofed animals kick and am firmly convinced if he were at all distressed, he could very well have done plenty of damage. I agree that to someone very sensitive to animal well-being, albeit a trifle inattentive to animal cues, it could seem ‘rough’, but this animal’s cues were not those of a distressed animal, and he sure looked downright happy and in no hurry to run off after he was finished! Kudos to Jeff!

By: Susanne C

Susanne C — Mon, 11 May 2009 03:26:38 +0000

I had a ball at the shearing. At one point one of the sheep being sheer was smiling. Seriously! I even asked the people beside me if they notice her smiling and they agreed. I was very impressed and hope to make it back for another shearing event sometime. I even have a picture. Great time, great people, great sheep!!

By: Susan

Susan — Mon, 11 May 2009 00:09:44 +0000

TS, I too am sorry that the video distressed you, but I have the utmost respect for Jeff as a shearer. He takes his time and has as much respect for these animals as I do. Jeff Traver is a good man who loves animals. I want that to be very clear.
Incidentally, Ernie was a bottle baby lamb at a farm I did an internship at. He’s a Cotswold- a breed only raised for meat in this country. After feeding Ernie every day for a month, there was no way I was going to quietly allow him to be slaughtered and eaten. I begged, whined, pleaded and finally reasoned with the livestock manager to allow me to take Ernie home to my farm.
Ernie’s fiber is not of a high enough quality for us to sell. He also eats a tremendous amount of hay- more than any other animal on our farm. In short, he is a very large, very expensive pet and he will have a home on my farm as long as there is breath in my body.
We don’t shear him for his fleece- it’s worthless. We shear him because he would probably die in the summer heat if we didn’t. I’m sorry you have received some bad information.

By: Beth

Beth — Sun, 10 May 2009 22:25:37 +0000

I am sorry that ts was so very distressed by this demonstration. Clearly this is someone who has a great deal of concern and sympathy for animals. In all fairness, we as humans are not guiltless in the arena of animal cruelty. Speaking as a veterinarian, I would just like to comment that in this case I believe the concern is misplaced. I was very impressed by the skill and gentleness of the shearer and the calm, relaxed demeanor of the animal. I kept thinking he seemed to be enjoying the process rather than simply tolerating it. As I have been following this blog and watching Lambcam I have never experenced any doubt that these critters are anything other than well loved and well treated. Thanks to all of your for your efforts.

By: Carolyn C

Carolyn C — Sun, 10 May 2009 22:03:27 +0000

I just read ts’s comment. Sad. Clearly, this person has little or no experience with animals. The shearer wasn’t hurting Ernie in any way. Didn’t hear Ernie utter a sound or struggle. Does ts also object to milking cows?

By: Carolyn C

Carolyn C — Sun, 10 May 2009 21:55:53 +0000

Reminds me of wrestling my cat boys over to clip their claws. (I live high up in a condo looking over the city….)
I love this website. A marvelous respite from current
miseries.

By: muffinista

muffinista — Sun, 10 May 2009 20:07:15 +0000

i saw ernie and the other sheep being sheared in person and jeff, the shearer, decidedly did not treat the sheep as inanimate objects. he explained his process to us and it was clear from his explanation and watching him work that he has a great deal of respect and concern for the animals.

ernie didn’t ‘resist’, but it’s not like you can explain to a sheep – ‘here, dear, lie down on this tarp and we’ll take all that heavy wool off you so you’re more comfortable.’ once on their backsides, the sheep were fairly calm and jeff used his feet and legs to keep the sheep from getting up rather than to keep the sheep pinned down. i’m sure that having those clippers buzzing around one’s sensitive bits isn’t the most comfortable feeling but it doesn’t take long and none of the sheep were harmed in any way.

the shearing day was great fun – thanks to susan, patrick, and everyone else for a fantastic day.