Partner Article

Sheep forget snow sense

Sheep might have lost their traditional knowledge of how to cope with prolonged snow, a leading farmer in Northumberland has said.

Milder winters meant that flocks have lost the practice of finding shelter on hilltops - and shepherds have lost the habit too.

The fears were raised by Malcolm Corbett, 58, who farms at Rochester in the Northumberland National Park, and is vice-chairman of the NFU national livestock board.

In the past, flocks were gathered in “stells” - open, circular shelters - and fodder was left there for them, Mr Corbett said.

But the mild winters had led the practice to die out.

He said: “The young ewes learn from the older ones to come in to the shelters during the bad weather, but that’s not something they have had to do recently.

“Animals evolve and so do their practices which maintain and sustain them in their environment and this (sheltering under the snow) is something they have not required.”

Mr Corbett said sheep can survive for long periods if they burrow down through a snowdrift and get to a food source.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .