A photo of the farmer and one of his sheep during happier times.
Source“Edinburgh (AFP) – A Scottish wool farmer has pleaded guilty to animal abuse after he was caught on video punching two sheep in the face, an animal welfare charity said Tuesday. William Brown, 59, was fined £550 ($715, 660 euros) under Section 19 of Scotland’s Animal Health and Welfare Act 2006, after he admitted to causing unnecessary suffering to two rams on his farm in Penicuik, south of Edinburgh, in 2018.
The investigation was conducted by the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), which is authorised to report cases of suspected cruelty to state prosecutors. Scottish SPCA chief inspector said he hoped the fine “will serve as a warning that this behaviour is unacceptable”.
“He will be fully aware that sheep experience fear and can perceive humans as a threat,” John Chisholm said. “Violently lashing out at the sheep will spread fear amongst the rest of the flock.”
Brown was filmed by an undercover animal welfare officer sent in by the animal rights organisation People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
The organisation, which documented similar cruelty to sheep in England in 2018, said it was the first time a Scottish wool farmer had pleaded guilty after being caught engaged in acts of “flagrant cruelty” to sheep. “This is a huge milestone — but it’s just the tip of the iceberg,” PETA claimed. “It’s routine in the Scottish wool industry to kick, beat, and stamp on sheep, but so far, only one person… has been charged with cruelty to animals.”
Katie James, a spokeswoman for the National Sheep Association, said abuse of sheep was not widespread at all. Sheep farmers were trained and given guidelines making the animals’ welfare “the highest priority”.
I have some thoughts to share about this story. First of all, wild move by the farmer to punch not one, but two sheep. Brave man to go into a two on one Royal Rumble against semi-domesticated barnyard animals. Second, what a deeply disrespectful move to punch the sheep in the face of all places! He didn’t want to hit them in the flank or the ribs?!?! Nope! Our guy domed not one, but two sheep. Hitting someone or something in the face clearly lets the beaten party know your message is, “I don’t respect you and I want to you be deeply aware of that lack of respect!” and it seems this farmer was all about getting that message across to his flock.
Now, let’s get deeper into the analysis. I really think there’s something the writer of this news article, the animal loving SPCA and PETA tattletales dogooders people quoted in the story, and the Scottish courts that imposed the fine all failed to consider: What exactly did those sheep do to warrant Old McDonald smacking them upside their mellons? I mean, they must have done SOMETHING, right?!?! Think about the farmers you have met at your local farmer’s market on a weekend or that you’ve seen on TV shows or in movies. These are generally old dudes in overalls driving dusty pickup trucks. They’re typically kinda stove up from arthritis brought on by years of doing manual labor outdoors under suboptimal conditions. Most of these dudes are also at least somewhat religious/have a keen sense of right and wrong honed by years of fervently praying for rain to end droughts. What I’m getting at is these are not the types of dudes to just casually lay an unwarranted beatdown on Mary’s Little Lamb. They just don’t have the inclination or that the energy to pull off such a feat after driving a combine across acres of fields all day and then milking dozens of cows. So, all I’m saying is whatever happened between that farmer and those 2 sheep I’m pretty sure the sheep had it coming.