Sheep farmers are forced to dump their fleeces due to coronavirus

Sheep farmers are forced to dump their fleeces as coronavirus causes the price of wool to plummet

  • Around 10,000 tons of wool are sitting unsold in depots across the UK
  • It is the latest blow to an industry already beset by fears of American imports
  • UK produces nearly 22,000 tons of wool every year from about 45,000 farmers 

Sheep farmers are having to throw fleeces on compost heaps after the price of wool plummeted in the pandemic.

It is the latest blow to an industry already beset by fears that it could soon be undermined by inferior US imports.

With US-UK trade talks set to resume tomorrow, images have circulated on social media showing desperate sheep farmers forced to dump hundreds of near-worthless fleeces in fields.

The UK produces nearly 22,000 tons of wool every year from about 45,000 farmers who tend more than 32 million sheep – one for every two people. Pictured are sheep in Derbyshire 

Around 10,000 tons of wool are sitting unsold in depots across the UK following the shutdown in the global market caused by coronavirus, which hit after decades of falling prices.

John Royle, of the National Farmers’ Union, said: ‘Back in the day, people used to say that shearing almost paid the farm rent but those days are gone.

‘For some hill breeds you’re getting less than 10p per fleece when it’s costing nearly £1 to shear it. It’s costing a lot more to shear the sheep than you get back from the wool, which seems a real shame when you have got potentially such a great product.’

The Mail on Sunday has launched the Save Our Family Farms campaign to keep American goods that are produced to inferior animal welfare and consumer protection standards off our supermarket shelves in the event of a US-UK trade deal.

The UK produces nearly 22,000 tons of wool every year from about 45,000 farmers who tend more than 32 million sheep – one for every two people.

Shearing is principally done for the welfare of the animal and must be carried out annually, costing up to £2 per sheep.

One of the farmers affected is David Jones, from Shropshire, who opted not to sell his fleeces this year after receiving £700 for five tons of wool in 2019 – despite £2,500 shearing costs.

He told The Mail on Sunday: ‘It just wasn’t feasible really. There’s more value to turn them into organic fertiliser rather than pay extra labour to pack, handle and transport the wool.’

Sussex shepherd Stuart Fletcher brought the issue to public attention with a post on social media showing his fleeces piled up. It was shared 24,000 times.

He said: ‘I just happened to put it on our Facebook page because I thought people should know about it and it went crazy.

‘Everybody is saying we want this stuff, we think it’s a brilliant product, where can we get it?’

Mr Fletcher is backing a petition that calls on the Government to make British wool products mandatory in the new £2 billion home-insulation scheme announced earlier this month.

The petition, available at https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/british-wool-for-british-insulation, has attracted more than 12,000 signatures in just four days.   

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk