Sheep-shearing show facing cut? (From Your Local Guardian)

Sheep-shearing show facing cut?

2:00pm Saturday 12th April 2008 in Wimbledon

Sheep-shearing could be off the bill at A Country Affair if a ruling in Kent is applied nationwide.

The popular animal event is one of the big attractions for A Country Affair, a country show that takes place in Morden, Clapham and Hampton Court.

But animal rights protesters have put the spectacle in jeopardy after getting a similar event scrapped at a show in Kent.

The show involved shearers from Australia and New Zealand trying to remove a fleece from a sheep in the quickest time possible.

It was a highlight of the Kent County Show, but anti-cruelty activists argued there was a chance the sheep could get hurt by the electric clippers, and so organisers pulled the event.

If that decision is replicated nationally, sheep-shearing could be a thing of the past for A Country Affair.

Last year the sheep-shearing show was in danger due to restrictions following the foot and mouth outbreak.

A Country Affair takes place at Morden Hall Park on May 3, 4 and 5, Clapham Common on May 24, 25 and 26, and Hampton Court Palace on August 23, 24, and 25.

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