4 hours ago
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Kevin KeaneScotland environment, energy and rural affairs correspondent
Duncan Adams
Scottish shearer Duncan Adams is helping New Zealand counterpart Jed McAlley
Duncan Adams is in his third season helping farmers in the North Island of New Zealand.
The 26-year-old from Banchory in Aberdeenshire is a sheep shearer, a role in great demand - but only at certain points in the year.
Duncan has spent months shearing thousands of sheep there and when he returns to Scotland in the next few weeks he expects some of his Kiwi colleagues to come with him to reciprocate on farms back home.
Ministers want the industry to train more people in the UK but farmers say the work is seasonal and there's not enough of it to sustain full time employment without overseas travel.
The shearing season for Scotland's 6.5m sheep lasts about three months from May until August.
For the rest of the time, Duncan travels to places such as Australia, New Zealand, the US and Europe, gathering enough work to make it a full time job.
He is currently working in the Hunterville region in central North Island where the season is drawing to a close.
In New Zealand, which has a similar sized population to Scotland, there are about 25m sheep and the shearing season lasts much longer.
Duncan Adams
New Zealand's industrialised sheep farming sees thousands of sheep being shorn each day
Duncan believes the Home Office visa announcement is a "poor" decision which will likely have a serious negative impact on the UK shearing industry.
At present it relies on personal connections both for securing work abroad and bringing skilled shearers to the UK.
He added: "Overseas workers help manage large numbers of sheep in a short space of time.
"We only have a short period in the UK to achieve our shearing season so if it's extended too long, it could be an animal welfare issue."
Scotland has more than six million sheep which will all need shearing over the coming months
Due to the industrialised nature of farming in New Zealand, shearers can expect to handle about 400-600 sheep a day.
It is estimated there are around 1,500 shearers in the country with only around 75 regularly coming to the UK from overseas each year.
Sheep and beef farmer Jed McAlley, who is working with Duncan, believes the new visa arrangement would be "another thing to put them off" travelling.
He said: "We need to all work together to create a 12-month period of work.
"In New Zealand we've got about eight months' work.
"In the UK you've got about two months' work and you can go to Australia to pick up the rest.
"If you can create full time jobs for these guys I think that can only be a good thing."
Peter Myles of the National Sheep Association which has urged the government to reconsider its decision
The UK Home Office has confirmed that an original plan to end access to the UK for foreign shearers immediately has been extended to cover this year's season.
But those wishing to work here will now be required to apply for a visa.
The concession, which has been in place since 2012, will end on 30 June and will not be renewed in 2027.
A spokesman said: "The sector has been supported for 14 years to enable them to train up British workers, reduce their reliance on migrant labour, and provide a fully sustained workforce within the United Kingdom.
"A final extension has been provided to the sector.
"We now expect the sector to complete its transition to using domestic labour."
The National Sheep Association has been lobbying the UK government to reverse its decision which, it says, could leave up to 1.5m sheep unshorn.
Spokesman Peter Myles, who farms in Angus, says the arrangement only applies to "a double decker bus full" of shearers from the southern hemisphere who have been coming to Scotland for generations.
He added: "If they're not shearing all year round, they're losing their skills, they're losing their muscle memory to shear and it takes them quite a bit of time to get back up to speed again."
Peter says the international shearing community is a "happy family" who are "not going to overstay their welcome".
And he added that if they are not here "the job will struggle to get done."
Ann Van Eetvelt, a specialist from Lurgan Sheep Vet in Aberfeldy, says there are a number of potential animal welfare issues which arise from not being shorn.
The most serious is called fly strike which can be fatal.
It is caused by flies laying eggs in the wool which hatch out as maggots and start eating the flesh of the sheep.
Not only is it painful for the animal but the discomfort also causes them to eat less.
Ann describes the most serious fly strike infestations as "a cruel death".
Other problems include skin infections and heat stress which, with a warming climate, is becoming a growing concern.
The physical burden of carrying a heavy fleece, Ann says, can also restrict the animal's movement for grazing which means they end up eating less and becoming under-nourished.
It can also increase the risk of becoming "cast" where the sheep rolls onto its back with its legs in the air and cannot right itself without intervention.
Some farmers have been shifting their flocks to "self-shedding" varieties but in Scotland's uplands the thicker coats are needed in the winter months.
While the act of shearing can be stressful for the animals, Ann adds that having inexperienced shearers who take longer or perhaps leave cuts on the skin can create avoidable longer term health concerns.
