Two runaway sheep caught, and over 43kg of wool shorn

SPCA first received a report in August regarding three sheep with incredibly overgrown fleeces. Described as “unmusterable”, the sheep had reportedly evaded numerous attempts to catch them before SPCA became involved.

“The sheep would apparently run up the hill into cliff faces, where it was too dangerous for dogs and people to muster them out of,” says SPCA Inspector Jade.

“I’d heard from multiple people in the area that the sheep supposedly had appeared on the ridges around the time Cyclone Gabrielle hit, and it’s believed they hadn’t been shorn since then.”

SPCA teamed up with MPI, and local farmer Brett Higgs and his dogs.

They managed to locate two sheep, but unfortunately could not locate the third. The team suspected it may have passed away.

“Brett and the dogs managed to get up above the sheep and push them down to where our SPCA and MPI Inspectors were,” Jade says. “When I first saw them up close coming down the hill, it was shocking – they looked like two massive clouds of wool!”

An MPI Inspector managed to capture one sheep, while the other sat down passively – appearing to have accepted their fate.

With the sheep safely in SPCA’s care, the focus now shifted to the mammoth shearing task ahead.

Luckily, local ex-farmer Matt offered to take on the job.

“Matt offered to come along and shear the sheep for us,” Jade says. “It was a big task and we’re really appreciative of him coming down to help us out.”

After they were shorn, SPCA weighed their fleeces. The first came in at 21.6kg, and the second was 22.2kg.

Thankfully, the sheep were otherwise healthy.

“They were in good condition, andsurprisingly, overweight! They were quite happy after getting shorn, pottering around,” says Jade.

The sheep were adopted by Brett, the farmer who helped with their capture.