The decision by the Falkland Islands Executive Council, and approved by the Standing Finance Committee, to provide additional financing of £1 million to the Falkland Islands Meat Company (FIMCO), has not been without controversy.
A young ram was sold for a record 350,000 guineas -- some US$ 490,000 at an auction in Scotland this week. The lamb, named Double Diamond, had generated buzz before the Scottish National Texel sale in Lanark started, according to a news release from the Texel Sheep Society.
Snowstorms and frosts in the high areas of the Argentine Patagonia Rio Negro province could cause the death of 70% of the flock, according to estimates from the provincial Livestock Secretariat, Tabaré Bassi.
Port authorities tried to right a capsized ship on Monday to rescue thousands of sheep trapped below deck in the Black Sea off Romania. The Palau-registered Queen Hind flipped onto its side shortly after leaving Romania's Midia port en route to Saudi Arabia on Sunday. Its crew, most of them Syrians, were rescued.
The insurance company NFU Mutual is calling on the UK government to update the Dangerous Dogs Act because of soaring attacks on farm animals. The company is part of the Livestock Worrying Police Working Group which wants higher fines and restrictions on dogs being let loose.
The number of sheep and cattle in the UK should be reduced by between a fifth and a half to help combat climate change, a report says. The shift is needed, the government’s advisory Committee on Climate Change (CCC) maintains, because beef and lamb produce most greenhouse gases.
Uruguayan animal health authorities are on the alert following the outbreak of a blue tongue focus among sheep in south Brazil. The outbreak has been located in Santa Maria, in central Rio Grande do Sul, and Uruguay's Agriculture and Livestock ministry has strengthened controls along the border which divides the rich farmland region.
The recent rain, wind and cold storm that severely punished Uruguayan farmers last week caused the death of 54.200 adult sheep. The sum from a survey conducted by the Uruguayan Wool Secretariat, SUL, almost doubles the original 30.000 estimate and does not include the recently born lambs.
Thousands of sheep dead, 1.500 people evacuated, blown roofs, flooded roads and farm land was the result of three days non-stop of pouring rainfall and strong winds that punished Uruguay beginning last Friday.
A vaccine to protect sheep and cattle from a virus spread by midges has been approved by UK government vets. The virus, which emerged in the Netherlands and Germany in 2011, can lead to sheep and cattle having stillborn or deformed offspring.