FARMERS and those responsible for the care and management of sheep are being reminded of their responsibility to manage wool length, so it doesn’t become excessive.

Agriculture Victoria Livestock Welfare Compliance Manager, Sarah Chaplin said sheep with more than one year’s wool growth were highly susceptible to heat stress and disease.

She said those with over-long fleeces were also more likely to become cast - lying on their side and unable to rise.

“A person who allows sheep in their care to grow excessively long fleeces may be exposed to cruelty provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Regulations 2019,” Dr Chaplin said.

“Under the regulations, a person must not allow the fleece of a sheep to grow to a length greater than twice the average annual growth for the breed of sheep or more than 250 millimetres (whichever is shorter).

“People that keep sheep as pets also need to ensure they plan ahead and arrange for their sheep to be shorn annually.”

Dr Chaplin said people who owned or managed sheep must take appropriate action to prevent their sheep’s wool becoming over-long, but that most sheep producers did shearing annually and thus wouldn’t have compliance issues.

“Sheep with excessive fleece length are at increased risk of heat stress, becoming cast and serious animal health issues such as flystrike,” she said.

“This regulation applies to anyone responsible for sheep, including sheep kept for commercial or hobby reasons.

“Anybody who owns or is in charge of sheep can be fined for having sheep with excessive wool growth.

“It’s also important anyone responsible for sheep consider the time of year they undertake shearing, particularly during the colder months when adverse weather conditions can have serious impacts on the welfare of sheep.

“Freshly-shorn sheep should be placed into paddocks that contain proper and sufficient shelter to protect them from adverse weather conditions.”

For further information regarding sheep health and welfare visit the Agriculture Victoria website or consult with Animal Health and Welfare staff at your local Agriculture Victoria office.

Anyone wishing to make a specific complaint regarding livestock welfare should contact Agriculture Victoria by email at aw.complaint@agriculture.vic.gov.au.

For more details on what is required when making a complaint, visit Agriculture Victoria’s report animal cruelty webpage.