ON BRANDING OF SHEEP

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30733, 24 April 1965, Page 10

ON BRANDING OF SHEEP

“THE prohibition of brand- "*■ ing of sheep may be all right in theory, but in practice it is just another pitfall in the path of the fanner,” writes a correspondent. “Until two or three years ago I had 29 neighbours adjoining my property at different points with their different earmarks, which in itself is a difficult enough problem, and then to be told that we must not brand is •the last straw.’ I will give you an example of what I mean. I had a sheep in my yards recently with no brand visible and it had the earmarks of three of my neighbours and each man in turn could not claim it because it had the other two neighbours’ earmark. I suggested that they should raffle the sheep to get over the problem. “Eartags, of course, will be suggested by the department, but more colours would be needed to facilitate the work of the farmer when drafting his sheep than there are

• colours in the rainbow, and i you just have not got the i time to catch different sheep ' to see whose name is on the '■ eartag. “Confusion sometimes arises when farmers attend i the local ewe fair or Adding- . ton market and a large line of ewes is put by auction in I truck lots. When these sheep , are brought home and ear- , marked farmers could find i that when they put their own , earmarks on them, with the , earmark already on the sheep [ when bought, they have inadvertently put each others’ ! earmarks on the sheep and without branding the position becomes hopeless. i “I always take the brands ; out of my wool at shearing ’ time and they are sold separ- . ately and on one occasion at , least two or three years ago I got over 4s per lb for the brands so that proves that they are wanted by someone who has a use for them. “Finally the wool belongs to the farmer and if he wishes he should be allowed to do

I anything he likes with it ■ and if he brands his wool i to such an extent that buyers ■ will not bid for it is the farmer’s business entirely and he will soon wake up to the [ fact that he must take his 1 brands out of the fleeces and ; sell them separately. i “I would like to suggest to 1 the department that if brand- • ing is prohibited, there is I another way that a ‘mint of i money’ could be saved coms pulsorily, and that is in the • place that brands are placed ■ on cattle. I “I have branded my cattle i on the cheek foe many years whereas the majority of people brand on the most ; valuable part of the hide—- ' the rump—with the result ' that the piece of leather which contains the brand is a dead 1 loss and to some extent has ' a depreciating effect on the surrounding leather. If it was 1 made compulsory to brand on tbe cheek it is possible ; that a great amount of money ; would be saved in the ini terests of the economy.”