I FELT I must put down my opinion of the sheep debate.
I am in complete agreement with the comments made by the writer of 'Sheep menace' in a recent issue of the Review.
I also feel irritated by the comment 'we feel it will settle nothing as the sheep will soon be back with us.'
I too feel very strongly that times have changed too much to allow sheep to roam at will.
Apart from the fact that they are a menace on the roads with so much traffic, my main concern is for the sheep themselves. They will very soon be suffering again from neglect and abuse. The main complaint seems to be from those who have their gardens ransacked in the winter. Surely anyone with a grain of sense can see why this is. After all the sheep have to find food somewhere.
Everyone who owns a lawn knows that after the last cutting in late September the grass does not grow again until spring.
So once the verges are cropped, where are they supposed to find food, but in people's gardens?
If they were in fields, where they should be, they would be able to have their daily ration of hay, roots and cake, and be attended to weekly, not to mention daily, come night and day, when they are lambing.
Some people say 'How can we keep the verges neat and tidy without the sheep?'
Well, the answer is the same as in other parts of the country where sheep are farmed properly. The council has to do it. We have to pay our council tax, so should be able to see some return.
I hope we never see free roaming sheep again, for their own sakes. They look just as pretty and much healthier in safe fields, rather than limping almost fleeceless on the roads. – Name and address supplied.