Sheepskin Rug Guilt, advice please

[Rhiannon]

Tigger, you might be able to help with this one.

I've always been a sheepskin rug fan and am considering buying a big one at the moment. The only guilt factor I have is this:

Are the sheep bred for their skins or are they a by-product of something else. Do people still eat mutton and are the sheep killed for that or solely for the purpose of decorating my floor? I want to buy a quattro (won't say four skins!) and it seems so sad to encourage the death of 4 sheep for it.

The sheepskins are used from sheep that have gone for slaughter anyway. Now where you would get such a large rug, I'll look into that. Don't feel guilty, the sheep aren't solely produced for their skins.

Thanks for putting my mind at rest Tigger. You can get them at sheepskin.co.uk! Lovely rich colours too.

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Robinw, please don't take this the wrong way but it is now ILLEGAL to put animals in the food chain for other animals, so it doesn't go for that, and most ewes are produced to produce lambs for slaughter or for breeding. We breed most of our replacements, although we lost this years reaplacements due to the F&M and having to put the hoggs away through the LWDS. It is illegal to put any animal into the food chain for other animals.

Tigger2, I didn't realise you'd lost animals due to F&M. (It must have been while I was away on holiday.) I'm really sorry to hear you were affected and hope you will be able to rebuild.

With regard to using animals in feed, does that also cover pet foods? TBH, I shudder to think what is in those tins!

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Offal goes into cat and dog food, we lost our ewe hoggs because they woldn't let us move them 10feet accross the road at our farm road end. Even with the Silage and feeding we were giving them they still were dying. Worst time of my life having to phone the Vet and ask him to come and see them and having to put them away to the Livestock Welfare Disposal Scheme, made us both feel as if we had failed them I spent the entire time they were loading the sheep and some cattle as well as we aren't allowed to put bulls and bullocks in the same shed, but we had to as they had nowhere else to go, crying my eyes out. We also have just taken on another farm along with this one, its a lot bigger in fact there is nearly 3,000 acres on it! we'll keep Blackface ewes and cows as well. We've just bought some heifers for it and they'll go to the bull next june.

Oh, Tigger, my heart goes out to you. I can see herds of sheep and cows from my windows and it would be truly awful if they suddenly disappeared. It's odd how attached to them you get, even when they are not yours and you have nothing to do with them, except watch them each day. I'm a bit of a sheep fan anyway(!) and have a number of collectibles etc. In fact, I'm typing this, still wearing my sheep pyjamas!

Best of luck with restocking and the new farm.

BTW you can usually get mutton from Asian/ethnic shops. However, they are usually halal so if you are against this kind of slaughter then it won'y be for you. I find mutton meat absolutely delicious in curries. The flavour is superb.