Shaggy sheep seeks shearing saviour

  • 02/09/2015
It is unclear how long the sheep has gone between shearing (Twitter/Tammy Ven Dange)
It is unclear how long the sheep has gone between shearing (Twitter/Tammy Ven Dange)

An Australian sheep shearing champion has answered the call to rid a woolly merino of its large fleece.

The sheep was found today and it's led the RSPCA ACT to issue a plea for someone to help.

Enter stage left, four-time Golden Shears winner Ian Elkins who volunteered for the mammoth task.

The organisation believes the weight of the wool could be life-threatening and Chief executive Tammy Van Dange says sheep could develop medical conditions if they're not regularly shorn, the ABC reports.

"Ian Elkins was in touch with us just recently, and apparently he has won 110 open shearing competitions, so I think we have our man," she says.

The organisation had wanted the sheep, found earlier today, to be shorn immediately.

Vets won't know if it has any medical problems until its wool coat can be removed.

Ms Ven Dange says the sheep's coat could be a result of it losing its herd, but if it is deliberate it could be a case of animal neglect.

The RSPCA did not know how long the sheep would have gone without being shorn.

It's not the first time a sheep has made headlines for not getting a haircut,

The discovery is reminiscent of the now famous New Zealand sheep Shrek found in 2004 with a record-breaking 27kg of wool - enough to make 20 large men's suits.

Shrek even met former Prime Minister Helen Clark in 2005 and a children's book was written about him by pupils at Tarras School.

Shaun the sheep also made headlines in Australia last year, ending his six years on the run. He was shorn, but the fleece wasn't enough to break the record.

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