Together, the music by J S Bach and words by Salomon Franck ‘Sheep may safely graze’ are well known. They express a lovely sentiment. But the reality is somewhat different. In actuality, sheep may NOT safely graze. Why is this?
The lives of sheep, in common with every living creature on earth, are open to hazards. Accident, illness, etc, are part of existence. And, certainly, sheep are prone to a lot of different diseases. But there are some particular hazards to which sheep are open in the context of grazing.
Sheep are herbivores. They graze pasture. As well as grass, they enjoy eating quite a range of other vegetation. It is sheep’s ability to find adequate nutrition from more than the perfect field that leads to sheep grazing in upland areas and other ‘poor pasture’ circumstances. They are, moreover, and particularly when ‘hefting’ is occurring (essentially, each sheep generation teaching the next where its traditional grazing place is), put to graze on open land, fellsides, moors, and hillsides. And in summer months sheep can still be moved to traditional distant grazing sites, so are driven up mountains or transported over to islands.
So, sheep are to be found grazing in more places than just fields close by farmhouses, and which locations are not near the sheep’s farmers/carers.
Two fundamental hazards exist for sheep as they graze. And these dangers are strengthened, the more distant are sheep from those who look after them.
The first danger arises: because of the likelihood that sheep are grazing rough pasture, or any pasture that is hedge-bound; because of sheep’s fleeces being liable to catch on anything ‘sticking out’, and most especially if a sheep is of a breed that is long-haired. The hazard is of getting caught, and on brambles most particularly. The supreme position of brambles as a catcher of sheep is for reasons that are twofold. Sheep are drawn to eat their leaves, and most particularly since, at times of the year, bramble leaves can represent just about the only fresh and growing, suitable for eating, thing to consume. Brambles are thorny and they grow large, wide and extensively. Their style too is to produce very lengthy runners along the ground. So, bramble can cause sheep to be seriously caught and entangled - a runner winding round a neck, or round legs for example. Anything thorny, such as gorse, can represent a threat of entrapment, but brambles are in a class of their own in the respect.
The second danger is an ultra-serious one. It is a traditional. It concerns an innate instinct. And the extra dimension is that, while it has always been a great threat, it is a growing one now. The hazard is dog worrying. Dogs’ natural instinct is to chase sheep. The Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953 sets out the law on the matter of dog worrying of farm animals on agricultural land. It is an offence for dogs to worry sheep: the interpretation of worrying is chasing, causing injury or death. Dogs must be kept on leads near livestock. And on Open Access land a dog near livestock is required by The Countryside and Rights of Way Act to be on a short lead of two metres or less. Dogs stress sheep. Simply the stress of being chased can cause a pregnant ewe to miscarry a lamb. The worst-case scenario resulting from a dog attack is that of the whole flock being killed, or severely injured and needing to be put down. Dreadful sheep suffering is the terrible outcome, and along with it, loss of income for the sheep farmer.
In essence a dog near livestock is required to be under effective control. A difficulty resides with the value and importance dog owners attach to respectively, their dog, the sheep; if they see their dog as of more value and importance than the sheep, they may not trouble to stop the dog from worrying them. Or the motives for non-compliance could be: arrogant determination by an owner to follow their own wish not to restrain their dog; owner ignorance that they are required to have a dog on a lead near farm animals. Worrying about dog worrying is that attacks on farm animals during Covid-19 lockdown increased - by 10%. Apparently there has been an increase in dog ownership during the pandemic. The concern now too is that among the public visiting the countryside is a sector that is not familiar with countryside needs and ways. That the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [DEFRA] updated the Countryside Code in July 2020 showed recognition of the dimension.
The two hazards discussed - albeit that the latter one has increased - are not new, relatively. It should be pointed out, though, that when it pertained that a shepherd would remain all the time with their sheep, rather than being away from them most of the time, the two hazards would not be very likely to occur, and if they did happen they would be able to be dealt with promptly before the point of being dangerous was reached.
There is a third, and major and widespread, hazard in relation to sheep and their grazing. This is the impact and effect of climate-change, already very noticeable. The essential hazard is this: that formerly suitable pasture becomes unsuitable, due to different and more extreme weather conditions. A nice field of grass could at one time of the year due to paucity/absence of rain become dry and bleached to the point of there being no nutritional value offered in the grass. And at the other extreme, the pasture could be so waterlogged from copious and intense rainfall that the sheep could not access the grass or remain in the field without drowning or foot rot. Areas of the globe, traditionally used for grazing sheep, could become impossible to be used for that purpose; and with all the huge implications attendant.
It seems an update is needed to be penned by Bach’s and Franck’s present-day equivalents.
17th March 2021