The End of a Love Affair

[High Desert Cowboy]

I’m sorry you have to give up sheep. Often when folks start making decisions, they rarely take into consideration how it may affect farmers and their livelihood. I live in rural Utah and even here we’re starting to butt heads with the dang California transplants.
No offense to Californians of course.

 

[Mike CHS]

As well as being liberally sprinkled with every swearword known to man, any animal is referred to as 'a life' or as 'a soul'. Therefore a herd of 10 cattle or flock of 10 sheep is described as 10 lives or souls.Hence, sheep auction..."What am I bid for these 10 souls?" I'm not sure that everybody who uses the term 'soul' believes that they have one, but the term is widely used.
"

A bit of trivia and I'm assuming the use of the word "souls" in aviation originally came from your part of the world. When pilots are talking to Air Traffic Control or even their company, they use the "XX (number) of souls on board" to indicate the number of people on the aircraft.

 

[Baymule]

I like that animals are referred to as souls, even at auctions. I eat meat. If there were no financial reward for raising animals, especially heritage farm animals, then they would cease to exist. So I name and make pets of my breeders and name the ones destined for slaughter, Dinner. But I name pigs, love them, care for them and still take them to slaughter. I look at it in this way, my animals have a good life, they get to act out their behaviors and are not locked up in tiny pens. They are loved, cared for, well fed and sheltered. They just have one bad day.

 

[Latestarter]

When it comes right down to it, every living thing has that "one bad day" to look forward to... just a matter of when it's going to arrive.

 

[Sheepshape]

Baymule,

I look at it in this way, my animals have a good life, they get to act out their behaviors and are not locked up in tiny pens. They are loved, cared for, well fed and sheltered. They just have one bad day.

Good philosophy.....the right one for animal husbandry. It disgusts me when I see innocent animals being kicked, beaten, and manhandled on the basis that 'they are on their way to slaughter anyway".

 

[Latestarter]

Right! If you're going to abuse animals, you should do it ALL the time, not just when they're on their way to the gallows... so to speak... That is just so confusing to the animals!

 

[greybeard]

saddo. noun plural -dos or -does. British slang a socially inadequate or pathetic person.
Saddo | Define Saddo at Dictionary.com

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/saddo

(Yes, I'm told I'm what is known as a Saddo).

 

[Latestarter]

Dang... completely missed that. I don't think so and don't believe anyone else here feels that describes you @Sheepshape ... How ridiculous.

 

[Sumi]

@Sheepshape I just found this thread and I'm so sorry to hear of your decision and the situation by you guys, forcing you to go this route. I've read and enjoyed some of your threads and stories about your sheep and your love for them is amazing and heat warming.

 

[Sheepshape]

Family keep asking when the tup is going in to the girls.....he's eyeing them up all the time. I currently have ewe lambs in the field who will end up in the meat market, which has never happened before. I don't feel right about this.

At the 'breeding sale' at the start of last week 10 out of the first 14 lots were not sold. One lady told me her ewe lambs would be going to slaughter the following day as she couldn't afford to let them go for half the price that they would have sold at as this time last year (and this follows a year when growing livestock has been particularly costly due to the absence of grass growth in a year where most of us so no rainfall for up to three months).

Latestarter, I am thought of in the area as being soft on animals....and this is usually considered a weakness. Well, that's as may be. They are entitled to their opinion, but it hasn't changed the way I operate one bit.

So the leaves fall, the season changes......