Sheep shorn for first time has 40.45 kilograms of fleece trimmed

CHRIS the sheep has broken world records after having his 40.45 kilograms of fleece trimmed.

In this photo provided by the RSPCA/Australian Capital Territory, an overgrown sheep found in Australian scrubland is prepared to be shorn in Canberra, Australia, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015. The wild, castrated merino ram named Chris, yielded 40 kilograms (89 pounds) of wool — the equivalent of 30 sweaters — and sheded almost half his body weight. (RSPCA ACT/ via AP) EDITORIAL USE ONLY, NO SALES

HE’S the shear-leader of the woolly pack. Chris the sheep has broken world records after having 40.45 kilograms of fleece trimmed in a hair-raising, lifesaving surgery.

Spotted by a bushwalker in the Mulligans Flats area near the NSW-ACT border, Chris was carrying such a heavy load that animal welfare experts feared he wouldn’t make it through the summer.

He was brought into the RSPCA’s Canberra facility and trimmed by champion shearer Ian Elkins, who answered the organisation’s call for help.

Tammy Ven Dange, chief executive of the Canberra RSPCA, which rescued the wild, castrated merino ram dubbed Chris, said she hoped to register the fleece with the Guinness World Records.

‘Chris’ after he was shorn on Thursday. Picture: RSPCA

An official of the London-based organisation was not immediately available for comment.

The fleece originally weighed in at 42 kilograms, but that included the weight of the wool bag.

The woolly coat dwarfs that of New Zealand’s hermit ram dubbed Shrek, who spent six years hiding in caves to grow his ragged fleece that weighed 27 kilograms when it was clipped in 2004. Shrek was often described as a record.

“He’s looking really good, he looks like a new man,” Ven Dange said, as the now 44-kilogram sheep recovered at the Canberra animal refuge. “For one thing, he’s only half the weight he used to be.”

Champion shearer Ian Elkins said the sheep appeared to be in good condition after being separated from his huge fleece under anaesthetic.

“We’ve smashed Shrek’s record of 27 kilos, no dramas,” Elkins told the ABC

“I don’t reckon he’s been shorn before and I reckon he’d be five or six years old,” he said.

Chris was found near Mulligans Flat Woodland Sanctuary outside Canberra by bushwalkers who feared he would not survive the approaching summer. He was found several kilometres from the nearest sheep farm. A bushwalker named him Chris after the sheep in the “Father Ted” television comedy series.

The fleece originally weighed in at 42 kilograms. Picture: RSPCA

Chris was rescued by the RSPCA on Wednesday and taken to Canberra, where he was shorn under anaesthetic because he was stressed by human company and because of the potential pain from the heavy fleece tearing skin as it fell away.

Ven Dange said he had suffered skin burns from urine trapped in his fleece and could have died within weeks if left in the wild.

“When we first brought him in yesterday, he was really shy, he was shaking, he would move his head away from people and he could barely get up and walk,” she said.

“The drugs might be wearing off right now, but he’s actually coming to you and actually wants a pat. He’s certainly moving a heck of a lot better,” she added.

She said Chris would be found a new home after vets gave him an all-clear.

Elkins said the fleece was too long to be sold commercially. He hoped it would end up in a museum.

“I wouldn’t say it ishigh quality, but you wouldn’t expect it to be running around in the bush that long unshorn,” he said.

Australian merinos are breed for wool and are shorn annually, with fleeces averaging about 5 kilograms.

Agencies