[Pebbles82]

Thank you all. Amity that hadn't occurred to me, that people wouldn't see them this year due to lockdown! Hopefully there will be a few stories and photos over the next couple of weeks. I believe docking dog tails is illegal in the Uk now. For sheep tails it is frowned on but not illegal. They are there for a purpose! To waft away flies and part of their natural enjoyment of life and expressing themselves. But yes it does take a bit of extra maintenance - not much though.

If anyone is interested - the profit for wool is negligible! For a herd of 200 sheep - the total of all their fleeces fetches approximately £20. Farmers are only allowed to sell the fleeces to the Wool Marketing board and that is what they pay. Someone somewhere is making a big profit on the wool! I did look into setting up a cottage industry to spin it and ball it and sell the wool balls which makes some money on it. But Swaledale wool is a bit too rough for knitting - better for insulation or carpet making. Some farmers have set up a business making insulation out of sheeps wool but that takes a lot of investment up front, buildings and machinery etc. So £20 it is!