Liberate our sheep and Animal Rights:Sheep

The soul is the same in all living creatures, although the body of each is different.

It is becoming increasingly evident that sheep are sentient creatures, in fact there is much evidence both scientific and anecdotal that all farm animals are sentient.

"The way the sheep's brain is organised suggests they must have some kind of emotional response to what they see in the world,"
Dr Keith Kendrick

In 1997 a Protocol was formally added to the European Treaty recognising animals as sentient beings.

Research is now validating what to many is obvious.

Firstly, what is sentience?

Sentience, means awareness, consciousness and I will use all three interchangeably. Generally Indications of sentience are intelligence,
ingenuity including the ability to problem solve and to reason, awareness; including self awareness and awareness of others of ones own and other species, and the ability to experience pleasure and conversely suffering both on a physical and emotional level. A sentient creature is aware of his surroundings, of sensations in his own body, such as hunger, thirst, heat, cold and pain and the emotions relating to these sensations. In simple terms a conscious, thinking, feeling being.   

Jeffery Massom in this book The pig who Sang to the moon tells the story of Rammo, " a macho two-year old Ramouillet ram" who formed a special and compassionate bond with Whisper, a cow who was born blind.  

"Rams tend to be loners, and he was a pretty tough ram, so it seemed unusual that he would take up with a blind member of another species. But he did"

"He would graze next to her all day and guide her about the field, making certain she did not bump into the fence or posts...When she had a calf , Shout, sired by an Angus bull, Rammo behaved paternally toward the young animal, more so than even to his own offspring, several bouncy lambs. Whisper lived to be four years and than died in 1996 of a viral infection. Rammo mourned her a long time, standing by her dead body, calling and calling.

More later about the emotions of sheep, compassion, friendship and the formation of bonds with other species including our own.

Dr Keith Kendrick also states:

"If they can do that with faces, the implication is that they have to have reasonable intelligence, otherwise what is the point of having a system for remembering faces and not remembering anything else".

"It does beg the question that sheep must potentially be able to think about individuals that are absent from their environment"

"We [humans] are obviously capable of conscious perception of faces using this exact same system in the brain as is present in the sheep. Therefore, it would be surprising if they were not capable of some level of consciousness using that same system."

Listen to BBC's Richard Hollingham's interview with Dr Keith Kendrick and read the article Amazing Powers of Sheep

BBC News | SCI/TECH | Amazing powers of sheep

Interestingly Dr Kendrick conjectures that sheep have acquired the reputation of being stupid simply because they flock together, giving the appearance that they do not have any individuality and are timid, stressful and fearful creatures.

"Any animal, including humans, once they are scared, they don't tend to show signs of intelligent behaviour,"
BBC News | WALES | The 'intelligent' side of sheep  

More about Dr Kendrick's research, face recognition and emotion later.

It has been reported that sheep have the ability to concentrate and can watch television. Commenting on this unusual aspect of a sheep's capabilities Jeffrey Mason in his book The pig who sang to the moon says:
"It certainly strains credibility to think they 're watching without any mental activity; after all, paying attention to what they see is already a form of mental activity ."

If you do not believe that sheep watch TV than you are in for a surprise, at the end of this webpage.

Scientists in Australia have discovered that sick sheep know how to heal themselves by eating plants that make them well. Furthermore sheep learn this from their mothers when they are lambs. Research shows that when they have a choice sheep will return to a plant that has helped them in the past.

Dr Revell a scientist in involved in the research studying sheep nutrition says:

This amusing account indicates quite clearly that sheep are not only intelligent, but intelligent with a good deal of ingenuity, they have an obvious ability to solve problems and work things out and to also work in groups indicating communication between them. Even though we may not in anyway be aware of such communication it obviously takes place as the above clearly demonstrates. The sheep here have clearly worked out between themselves how to open the gate.

Sheep also show a good degree of clever cunning. Sheep living in the Yorkshire moors have worked out how to cross the cattle grid to raid local gardens, the cricket ground and even the graveyard in a Yorkshire village. Driven by hunger these clever creatures have devised a way to cross the grid in order to graze in the gardens of the village by laying on their sides or backs and rolling over and over. In addition these sheep have perfected the skill of hurling themselves over fences as high as five feet and squeezing through tight gaps of little more than eight inches. A spokesperson from the National Sheep Association commenting on this situation said:

"Sheep are quite intelligent creatures and have more brainpower than people are willing to give them credit for."

Read the full story: BBC NEWS | UK | Crafty sheep conquer cattle grids

My husband and I have witnessed similar escapades. A ram in the Yorkshire dales has worked out how to cross the grid which leads from his field into the lane which affords fresh grazing, he simply and quite nimbly walks across the grid with far more agility than I could mange.

Surely even the simple action of seeking shade as you can see in the photograph below when the sun is hot or shelter in inclement weather has to be figured out, and demonstrates intelligence and the ability to reason.

Sheep find shade on a very warm afternoon in September

Make no mistake and assume that sheep simply stand firm during hot or adverse weather and endure it because they are too stupid to do otherwise; this is often a misconception many people have which gives credence to the idea that sheep lack intelligence; if shade or shelter is available they will make good use of it. If you observe carefully you will notice that the only time sheep endure driving rain, snow or blistering heat is when they are trapped in fields which offer no protection. So when you see sheep which appear oblivious to all weathers, in most cases you will notice this is only so because they have no choice as there is no shelter. Regrettably people misinterpret this kind of seemingly oblivious behaviour as indicative of a lack of intelligence and awareness.

In addition to face recognition of as many as fifty sheep as mentioned earlier it is now known that sheep can recognise the faces of at least ten people for at the very minimum of two years, which incidentally is something I cannot do, having a problem with face recognition. The same Research cited earlier at Cambridge University demonstrates also that sheep react to our facial expressions responding more favourably to a smile than a frown.
"Sheep are able to recognise faces that differ by less than 5% so we thought perhaps they could recognise emotions which are much more subtle," "It turns out they can, both human, smiling versus angry; and sheep, stressed versus calm." Dr Kendrick.

Intelligence however is not the only criterion which qualifies sheep as sentient. However sadly - intelligence is it seems, our main yardstick of worth and for many an important criterion in the consideration of whether or not a creature is sentient, and not only in the consideration of other animals but also with regards to our own species.

Sheep have been considered dumb most likely because it is in the interests of those who exploit animals for profit to encourage this fallacy, mostly notably the meat industry who wish to promote the misconception that animals are not sentient beings.

Awareness of self and others can only manifest in a sentient creature.

Awareness of others of their kind, and indeed other species and a sense of self is also is an important criterion is accessing the presence of sentience. Sheep more than many creatures are aware of others of their species. Research demonstrates that when sheep are isolated from their flock they clearly experience stress, this is indicated by an increase in heart rate, the production of stress hormones and frantic loud bleating. Although anyone who works with sheep or regularly visits the countryside does not need the confirmation of test results to notice the anxiety, and indeed fear, when a sheep becomes isolated from his or her flock. Incidentally sheep recognise their own particular flock. Recently in the Yorkshire Dales a lamb had somehow escaped her field and was frantically running back and forth, her frenzied bleating echoing round the entire valley until with some encouragement from my husband she finally found her way into her own field and was reunited with her flock. Previously her frantic bleating had not abated by entering a field occupied by a different flock. Another time a sheep busy grazing failed to notice that the flock had moved on, her distress was not only clearly audible with frenetic bleating and running with some considerable haste to join her flock, but the sheer presence of stress in her whole demeanour couldn't be missed. During research it was found that stress in such situations was reduced when the sheep where shown pictures of other sheep whom they knew, being shown pictures of goats a very similar creature to which sheep are closely related and pictures of triangles did not have the same effect. These examples of course not only show that sheep are aware of other sheep, but also that sheep have excellent memories.

A Lamb more than any other baby animal recognises his or her mother. Below is an observation of this made in the Aberdeen bestiary written in 1200

The lamb is called agnus possibly from the Greek word agnos, pious. Some think that it gets the Latin form of its name because, more than any other animal, it recognises, agnoscere, its mother, so much so that, even if it strays in the midst of a large flock, it recognises its mother's voice by her bleat and hurries to her. It seeks out also the sources of mother's milk which are familiar to it. The mother recognises her lamb alone among many thousands of others. Lambs in large numbers make the same baa-ing noise and look the same, yet she picks out her offspring among the others and by her great show of tenderness identifies it as hers alone.

Text f21r The ram, the lamb, the he-goat - The Aberdeen Bestiary.

 

Sheep like humans have different personalities and personality traits in varying degrees. For instance not all sheep are timid as everyone thinks, and for those who are, again as with people this trait of personality is varied. Some sheep flee at the slightest noise or movement, whist others are incredibly bold. The delightful creature below followed us around one day last summer during a visit to the Cheviot hills. She showed no fear whatsoever. We were able to feed her and when we arrived back at the car she peered in making us feel really guilty as we ate our lunch until we gave her my apple slice. One of the most unusual aspects was the effect her following us about had on other sheep grazing nearby, who observed her boldness and unusual behaviour with obvious curiosity and dare I say it with some surprise. 

Please click the graphic above to access a larger image

Anyone visiting the Horse Shoe pass in North Wales will tell you of the very bold sheep who graze there and who loiter around the café and souvenir shop at the summit. The sheep approach you quite freely with none of the normal timidity which most people associate with sheep. They will even push their heads right through an open window or door of your car as they fearlessly pursue a tasty titbit. This year whilst holidaying in the area we saw sheep chasing a group of children, in a friendly way of course, who where feeding them hoping to obtain more food. Many years previously we had a similar experience concerning the ancestors of these sheep. It is clear that these sheep have learnt that in this area there is a good chance of a free meal, something a little more tasty than grass and they have also learnt, that at least in this circumstance, to loose their fear of man and even his dog. Although I cannot prove this it seems clear to me that the sheep here have passed on such knowledge and behaviours to their descendents. There are examples of this type of learnt behaviour being passed from one generation to another in other creatures. For instance swans who reside at the Bishops Palace Gardens in Wells, Somerset, who ring a bell for food. Swans in the nineteenth century where trained to do this and now the present generation of swans continue to do so having learnt this from their ancestors.

At the Summit of Horse Shoe pass in North Wales sheep have lost their timidity and will not only approach you when food is offered but will pester you the instant you arrive even before you can get out of the car.  As soon as you open the door a sheep will poke her head inside, as did the sheep in the photograph below and this was the reason I was able to get such a good close up.   Here a mother and daughter relax unperturbed amidst the crowds of people who stop at this popular place, including exuberant children and the noise of motorcycles. The sheep here have learnt that it is safe and they will not only come to no harm but they can obtain a frequent supply of food from people who stop to admire the view. Please click the graphics above to access a larger image

Important : You are not advised to feed sheep, this may cause them harm. We did this before realising that sheep should not be fed food such as bread, cakes and pastries.

Having made the above warning, it is apparent that sheep, like us, prefer food that is not considered healthy. They may know what is healthy as in the example earlier, but rather like us they often choose to ignore this. In fact sheep have a great passion for food and will pursue the chance of a feed at every opportunity sometimes with comical results. As the account of a hill walker shows.

"A few years ago I had an experience which I can only describe as 'sheep mugging' whilst trying to eat lunch on Pen Twyn Glas above Crickhowell. I was literally attacked for my lunch by a very persistent sheep, she even pushed her lamb out the way to get at my sandwiches.

My friends were highly amused as she targeted me alone. They said it was because I was a vegetarian - my sandwiches contained dairy-free soya cheese spread which the sheep thought was wonderful! "

Helen Clover
What do sheep eat - Walking & Hiking Questions & Answers

Again whist on holiday some years ago during the foot and mouth outbreak when it was more important to confine sheep to their fields, a local farmer’s sheep in Northumberland persistently strayed from the field. We once saw them climbing over the wall despite the farmer yelling at them. They would wander round the hamlet entering gardens, eating the flowers and other plants without any concern whatsoever. I recall arriving back to our cottage from a day's outing to find it full of sheep grazing on the lawn and flower beds, a comical sight indeed, they simply looked up from their eating but made no effort to move. At first we shooed them away out of concern for the owner’s garden and all the effort that was put into it. But after a time the sheep became bold and instead of scurrying away one morning they simply looked up at me as I tried to shoo them away and carried on eating. They had long since worked out that they were in no danger and now therefore ignored attempts to chase them away.

As was mentioned previously, for an animal to be capable of compassion clearly demonstrates sentience. Recall the story earlier of Rammo the sheep. Sheep it seems experience a whole range of emotions. In his article  "Unto us a lamb is given" Horatio Clare while commenting on the emotions of sheep quotes Dr Kendrick repudiating the misconception that ewes do not notice when their lambs are taken from them but instead cry for days.

Love, which was once thought an emotion exclusive only to man, is not so exclusive after all. Scientists have found that sheep can fall in love and that they experience other powerful human-like emotions also:

More comments upon and quotes from Dr Kendrick's research in the extract below from a Times on line article: How was it for ewe? Sheep's love lives revealed by Jonathan Leake, Science Editor

"The study showed that ewes fall in love with rams, have best friends and feel desolate when those close to them die or are sent for slaughter. The discovery could have important implications for the way farm animals are treated.

Studies in humans have used magnetic resonance imaging to measure how different parts of the brain become activated when people are shown images of their loved ones. Kendrick found that the electrical activity and chemical responses in sheep were very similar.

Kendrick says it is clear that female sheep actively solicit and enjoy sex — and may even have orgasms. But the study shows ewes forget about their lovers far more quickly than women."

To finish reading this article:

How was it for ewe? Sheep love lives revealed - Times Online

I have to say here that although this research helps to provide scientific confirmation of the sentience and intelligence of sheep, and is therefore of great value in changing people attitudes towards sheep and other farm animals, some of the experiments, as you will read in this article where invasive. And some of the sheep where "painlessly killed " afterwards which  can never be justified in any circumstance.

In the above article you will read that research shows ewes fall in love with rams, have friends and also feel desolate when those close to them die or are sent for slaughter. Its a fact ewes are distraught and when their lambs are weaned and are taken from them, most often to be slaughtered. However without complex research it is obvious to anyone who has the time and inclination to observe sheep in thier own environment - or even in circumstances that are unnatural and indeed stressful such as in the example below of sheep at a local sheep show - that sheep display affection and like you and I have relationships and personal attachments.

Watching sheep you can see that they are friendly towards one another displaying signs of affection. Observe sheep rubbing heads, one sheep laying his or her head on the back of another sheep - just two signs of affection my husband and I have personally seen.

Sheep at a local sheep show rub heads affectionately, notice the look of sheer contentment on their faces Sheep are often seen resting their heads on the back of other sheep. Credit Photo:Picture Library: Vegan Peace JJ and Bonnie - (c) 2005 by Wanda Embar, Vegan Peace. Picture taken at Farm Sanctuary. These affectionate siblings curl up closely to one another in the warmth of the morning sunshine Visit Sentient Sheep in the photograph gallery to view and download similar photographs showing sheep sentience

As we have already seen compassion, also indicative of sentience is clearly present in sheep. Compassion like intelligence though varies in degrees in all creatures including humans. Whilst training dogs for the blind it has been observed that some dogs are more compassionate than others, some simply cannot be trained to assist blind people as they do not have a great enough degree of compassion. The fact that such emotions vary in other animals as they do with humans is to my mind clear indication of not only sentience but individuality, a characteristic which most people wrongly seem to consider as not present, particularly in farm animals and most particularly sheep.

It is said that sheep have no feelings and that if one of their number falls and cannot get up the others simply ignore him and carry on grazing in total disregard. This I can most assuredly tell you is simply not true. During a holiday to the West Country my husband, son and I observed a lamb fall to the ground in a nearby field. The poor little creature struggled to get back on his feet, his hooves flailing in the air. Sheep find it difficult to right themselves if they fall on their backs, they seemingly have a weak hip and are unable to get up and will die within an hour if they receive no assistance. Sometimes in older sheep this may happen simply after laying down on their side. Now the flock did not simply move on oblivious to the plight of the unfortunate lamb and leave him to his fate, rather several ewes tried to push him up with their snouts. It was a struggle but finally to our profound relief, as it would mean us climbing over the fence to take action, the lamb finally struggled to his feet. On another occasion whilst visiting the Cheviot hills in Northumbria a lamb got himself struck lower down the hill. The other sheep including his mother could do very little to help, but nevertheless they did not move on and instead peered down the hill with obvious concern and remained there until the lamb finally found his way to the top.

The evidence that sheep can make friends with other creatures both human and non human is extensive.

Read this heart warming story from What the Animals Teach Us by
Kathy Stevens, Catskill Animal Sanctuary.
 

What the Animals Teach Us: Kathy Stevens, Catskill Animal Sanctuary

"When Rambo, a large Jacob sheep, arrived, he was so dangerous that our safety was at risk. He'd stand on his rear legs, charge, and attempt to send us flying with his massive horns. "Oh, it's the breed," we were told by a woman who raised Jacobs. "I've had to put down almost all my males." Today, Rambo wanders through the barnyard, greeting other animals and following us as we feed. At night, he walks to our director's house and stands outside her office window, calling to her to come out and keep him company. When she walks the farm late each night, he accompanies her. With guests, he is gentle and affectionate, often leaning against a thigh in hopes of a head scratch.  He seeks out Dino the pony, who gently nibbles on his wool, licks his face and horns as the two stand head to head. Surrounded by love, Rambo has dropped his defences."

Isn't it amazing how sheep are transformed when we take the time to really get to know them

The question is not, "Can they reason?" nor, "Can they talk?" but rather, "Can they suffer?"
Jeremy Bentham

The Capacity to suffer is indicative of sentience; to feel pain one has to be aware. Animals feel pain, surely this is common sense. It is clear that animals feel pain in the same way as you or I and this why there are laws that prohibit cruelty to animals because it is generally accepted that animals feel pain. At least it is concerning animals we keep as pets. However in farming this consideration seems less so. There is often little consideration given to the inescapable fact that farm animals feel pain, and often very painful procedures are carried out on all farm animals including sheep, one of which is Mulesing. This is a practice which obvious to anyone is extremely painful. Mulsing is carried out without anaesthetic during the procedure or pain killers of any kind afterwards, during mulsing skin and flesh is cut of with a pair of shears around the lambs backside, it takes between 22 and 30 days to heal. For more information:

Save the Sheep! > The Animals

This produces a bald breach area which is said to prevent fly strike by stopping the accumulation of faeces and urine which attracts blow flies to lay their eggs. Fly strike is a truly awful blight, the sheep can literally be eaten alive by maggots. However the cure is as bad as the disease and in some cases may cause the disease itself as of course open wounds are susceptible to infection or infestation. There are other more humane alternatives, such as pesticides and simply checking that sheep are not infected see
Animal Rights: Sheep

The point is that contrary to what is often claimed, although it is plainly obvious to anyone with any common sense, there is scientific evidence that sheep do indeed suffer both during and after these procedures.

Farm animals including sheep are like us in many ways, the most important of which is that they all have a brain and a nervous system, just like you,  your cat or dog, therefore it is common sense that if you or your pet feel pain then so do they.

There is scientific evidence concerning the sentience of farm animals including sheep and If you need persuasion other than common sense please click here for a selection of testimonials:
SentientBeings.org - Testimony from scientists and animal experts.

In addition to scientific evidence there is so much anecdotal evidence that is truly overwhelming which leads to the conclusion that sheep and indeed other farm animals are sentient. People understand this given the opportunity to get to know these gentle creatures as was the case for a Pennsylvanian farmer and his wife, whose sheep farm was next to a farm sanctuary. After visiting  neighbouring  OohMahNee Farm animal sanctuary and helping feed new born lambs, gradually the perspective of the farmer and his wife changed and they saw their live stock as sentient creatures, individuals capable of both joy and pain with interests of their own.  Finally they gave up the business of farming and gave their entire stock to the Farm sanctuary.

The more time the couple spent next door at the sanctuary, the more they changed inside. They began to see animals as living, feeling creatures, rather than tools of production. They started building relationships with their own sheep and realized that farm animals do feel joy and pain, and that they do have their own interests. They learned, first-hand, that animals enjoy life and fear death, just as people do.

When the farmer and his wife helped raise and bottle-feed two fragile, newborn lambs who had been abandoned by their mother, they felt closer to their animals than they ever had before. When they witnessed the stillbirth of a lamb, or saw one of their flock taken by a predator, they allowed themselves to feel sadness. Most importantly, the farmer and his wife no longer felt comfortable sending their animals to slaughter.

Finish reading this heart warming story.

 "A Pennsylvania Farmer's Compassionate Decision Brings Nine Sheep to Live at Farm Sanctuary"

Rescue & Adoptions | Farm Sanctuary

In the next story not only can one man's pet sheep watch TV but he is an all round intelligent and friendly creature,  truly sentient. Proving the idea that if you get to know sheep as individuals you will find some amazing characters far more clever and aware than most of us have realised. This story clearly shows that given the opportunity a sheep really is no different than your cat or dog.

Rescued as a lamb the now 22 stone sheep is quite at home in his rescuer's home where he is now as much a part of the family as a more conventional pet. The sheep, a ram named Nick Boing likes to sit and watch TV and go for a ride in the car, says his owner:

"He's more intelligent than your average sheep that's stuck in a field.

He's in the house and in the car and meeting people over the park and around the village.

"He's part of the family. He comes in every evening, head-butts the cushions off the settee and watches TV.

"If the biscuit barrel is out he'll butt it on the floor because he knows the lid will come off.

"Come 11pm he'll have a swede or an apple and then he's out for the night.

Please read the full story:

Sheep is unusual new house pet | Metro.co.uk

 

The old assumption that animals acted exclusively by instinct, while man had a monopoly of reason, is, we think, maintained by few people nowadays who have any knowledge at all about animals. We can only wonder that so absurd a theory could have been held for so long a time as it was, when on all sides the evidence if animals' power of reasoning is crushing.
 

Ernest Bell

Can sheep experience pleasure?

To experience anything a creature has to be sentient, if we can see that an animal experiences pleasure this is added evidence that he or she is sentient. I think there can be little doubt in anyone minds that sheep experience pleasure. Who has not seen spring lambs gambol, indeed who has not seen a fully grown ewe suddenly leap and frolic.

They can be very playful. Lambs run races along the edges of fields. They love to compete for King of the Castle: any ant-heap will do. My mother had a yearling (a one-year-old) which had the habit of climbing on to the daily hay bale, apparently for the hell of it. She was evidently a joker, as most lambs pass through the playful phase and enter a rather solemn period, when they eschew games.
 

Horatio Clare

 

Watch these delightful videos of lambs playing, surely there can be no doubt that these creatures are enjoying themselves:
YouTube - Baa Baa Black Sheep Have you any wool

Lambs enjoy playing King of the castle as you can see here on another U Tube  video:

YouTube - Lambs Playing King of the Castle

Notice how the little lamb jumps through the gap in the bars to join in the fun.

I think the day is coming, a day long overdue, that the true nature of farm animals will realised, and that in time we will treat sheep and other farm animals with the respect and compassion that they are due and allow them the right to life without negative interference and molestation. 

Artur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)

References and links