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Sheep were the first animal domesticated by humans and this happened around
11,000 years ago. Modern sheep have been changed so much by selective breeding
that most breeds would be unable to survive without human support. The bible has
more references to sheep than any other animal. Sheep can recognise individual
humans and they are thought to have good memories.
The
first merino sheep brought to Australia from the cape of Good Hope in 1793. It
was a small a flock of around 30 animals. Less than 100 years later there were
60 million sheep in the country and by the late 20th century there were more
than 180 million. Australia produces about 70% of all wool spun for clothing in
the world.
Sheep were a major
contributor to the development of the state and were initially used as much in
the North West as in the south. Where today cattle are the major stock, sheep
used to dominate the Pilbara. In 1863 there were less than 1000 sheep in the
Pilbara but by 1890 there were over 2.5 million. Unfortunately for the
pastoralists nature can be fickle and a succession of droughts killed of at
least 1 million sheep in the next few years.
Today there are an estimated 25 sheep for every person in W.A. Wool and meat are
the main products.
At one time it was said that Australia 'rode on the sheep’s back', (the sheep got
tired of carrying round such a big country) and although the sheep industry is
still extensive, it is no longer regarded as the prime export dollar earner.
During the early days when shepherds were employed to look after the flocks it
was common practice to put bells on the sheep so that the shepherd could keep
track of the flock.
As a lone shepherd would usually look after around 1000 sheep, the bells were a
great help. There were 6 different sizes of bell each with a different tone and
2 each of sizes 1 to 5 were used with a single large bell used on the leading
ewe. (Hence the name bell wether). The medium sized bells were used on sheep
that liked moving on the wings of the flock and the smallest bells were used on
those that liked travelling at the tail end. Usually there was 1 sheep in 100
that had a bell attached. Any disturbance was easy for the shepherd to detect.
A shepherd would spend most of the year working alone with one or two dogs. It
was only at lambing time that he would need an assistant.
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