A SHORTAGE of foreign sheep shearers could cause major animal welfare problems this summer, say farmers.
The British Wool Marketing Board said about 500 shearers from New Zealand and Australia usually shear five million of the UK’s 14.5 million sheep.
But new identity laws mean only one Australian shearer has signed up this year.
Board chairman Frank Langrish said: “If the shearers don’t arrive in the UK in the coming weeks, we are facing a very serious welfare situation for our flocks.”
The problem has been caused by new £200 biometric identity cards for foreign workers.
In Australia, workers must travel to Canberra for fingerprinting and photographic identity details. The single shearer who has acquired a card travelled eight hours for a three-minute interview.
The southern hemisphere gangs are among the world’s fastest – shearing up to 400 sheep a day.
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