Sheep Drive

i was there and no doubt that any stress felt by the sheep was being caused by the ridiculous shouting and carrying on by the "animal rights"protesters...talk about hypocrisy..

I agreee with boroughmark.

Theres no doubt that the shouting and aggressive protestors made the sheep far more nervous than anything else.

As i said before I saw 2 protestors wearing rather unethical (for their beleifs) shoes, so i guess they were hypocrites too.

It is not time to shear the sheep just yet so they had not had they're wool kept on just for that drive, so they would have been hot that day wherever they were!

Also, knowing farmer sharp quite well (i come from the smae tiny bit of cumbria) I know that he cares about his flock deeply and values they're welfare.

Farming is a job that has been around for centuries and he does his job very well.

His sheep lead the best possible lives and are very well looked after.

We all know that they will be slaughtered in the end, thats a fact that will not change, no matter how hard the protestors shout.

Farmers need to earn a living like anyone else. In my mind there are far more 'evil'(as the protestors shouted) ways to do this.

They were lots of young children in the crowd of observers and i felt uncomfortable about them hearing some of the animal rights protestors shouts.

These children just came to see some sheep, not something many of them will of done at close quarters before, and did not need to find out the facts of slaughter in the way they did.

Although I respect the rights of everyone to have thier own opinions, these children have years ahead of them in which to form their own opinions and values without aggressive adults distressing them.

The protestors were getting their point across there was no other way to do it. Children and adults alike were hopefully educated on the facts of slaughter etc. To say 'poor children' is pathetic, the sheep were doomed from the start and you tel most children that and i think they would have objected then.

Once again people on here are defending the government and the authorites.

And once again I asked the protestors what they were wearing and it was NOT leather.

Jo_Jo02 wrote:

Children and adults alike were hopefully educated on the facts of slaughter etc.

Presumably letting them know that it is by law as humane and stress free as possible?

Children are not as squeamish as you think - I'm sure many of them wouldn't bat an eyelid if they were told the details of how their lamb chops got from field to roasting tin.

Thanks to everyone who sent in photos. A selection is now at
http://www.london-se1.co.uk/news/view/2214

James

Next thing you know we'll have people protesting that meat is being sold and consumed in Borough Market, and people tying themselves to the game hanging from the fence at one of the stalls.

" think the whole event was ridiculous, the sheep looked distressed and too hot."

Distressed because there were a load of misinformed nutters shouting and shoving, and probably feeling a bit weak from their vegan diet.

"Those sheep will have now had their throats slit with a kinfe and have all there skin removed and be hanging on a hook with blood dripping from them. "

As far as I am aware, Farmer Sharpe's sheep are not destined for Halal slaughter which I will not deny, from the limited amount I know about seems un-necessarily inhumane. Perhaps in the not too distant future they will be on somebody's dinner plate - possibly mine.

I saw a program on Halal slaughter, and the slaughtermen presented a good argument in favour of the humanity of the process. It is somewhat more bloody, but the knife is kept sharp to minimise pain, and the sudden loss of blood leads to unconciousness almost instantly. Halal rules are also strict on the treatment of the animal prior to slaughter.

Info here:

http://www.iccservices.org.uk/halal_food_meat/what_is_halal_haram.htm

I'm glad I qualified my post with "from the limited amount I know" :-)

yes, and I had some of them for lunch today
Clare

What an ill thought out idea the sheep drive was. What exactly was the link to architecture?

The feedback about the event focuses on the protesters and not on the stupidity of the event.

I am appalled at the lack of organisation which resulted in the sheep being surrounded by the crowd - getting lost and distressed.