"Sometimes you just need a group of idiots to get a job done," said Cammy Wilson, who lead the risky rescue mission.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/8860357

Britain’s so-called “loneliest sheep,” which was stuck at the foot of a remote cliff in Scotland, has been rescued, according to a group of farmers who made it their mission to save the well-known sheep. Cammy Wilson, who led the rescue mission, said it was a risky one – and that’s why, despite past attempts by others, the sheep had been stuck for so long.

There was an animal activist group who were trying to rescue the sheep as well days prior. Here’s their video: video

  • roguetrick@kbin.social
    27·
    1 year ago

    Wilson said the farmer that owned Fiona didn’t want to ask “anyone else for help because it would be on him if they got hurt.”

    “So sometimes you just need a group of idiots to get a job done,” he wrote in the caption. “We got a great result today but a slip of a foot and we would have just been fools with good intentions.”

      • cynar@lemmy.worldEnglish
        33·
        1 year ago

        Apparently, the origin of this was a quirk of Welsh law (while under English rule). Sheep rustling was a crime subject to summary execution by the local lord. However, “having a carnal relationship with livestock” was dealt with by the local bishop/church official.

        Given the choice between being hung from the nearest tree, or lying through your teeth and dealing with the local (Welsh) priest, it’s obvious why the English landlords were surprised by the number of sheep shagging Welshmen they encountered.

  • jballs@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    171·
    1 year ago

    Damn, reading the article and then watching the video are definitely two VERY different sides of the story! At first I thought the people in the video were the ones mentioned in the article, so was expecting a bad ass sheep rescue. To find out that the people in the article actually intentionally mislead the initial rescuers so they could sell the sheep to a petting zoo was a massive disappointment.

    • RandAlThor@lemmy.caOP
      82·
      1 year ago

      Yes that’s what I thought initially too. Then I watched a few more videos and came to this realization. If you watched the interview videos (watch the one from BBC Morning show) the farm who adopted Fiona had to hire security because of animal rights activists. What I suspect is the owner gave the animal rights activists a few days to get the sheep out. When they couldn’t after a few days, told them to get equipment (which they clearly didn’t have in their first 3 attempts, and did not mention having equipment either when they went back and found the sheep was gone) and gave them the run around and got this bunch of farmers to do it, who did it in one go. He gave the sheep away because he didn’t want the attention of activists.

    • roguetrick@kbin.social
      68·
      1 year ago

      I wouldn’t trust animal rights activists to be fairly representing all involved parties themselves. Nobody made enough money off this sheep to even justify renting a winch.

  • jordanlund@lemmy.worldMEnglish
    15·
    1 year ago

    Some people hear “sheep stranded between cliff and ocean”, other people hear “Hey, free sheep…”

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldBEnglish
    121·
    1 year ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    Cammy Wilson, who led the rescue mission, said it was a risky one – and that’s why, despite past attempts by others, the sheep had been stuck for so long.

    Photos show the sheep at the base of the cliff surrounded by steep rock on one side and water on the other.

    On Saturday, Wilson had an exciting update for followers: He and four other men decided to attempt a rescue, using “heavy equipment,” to bring Fiona up the slope of the cliff – and they were successful.

    After the rescue, Wilson said on Facebook the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was on site and it was determined the sheep would be brought to Dalscone Farm, a tourist attraction in Edinburgh with activities for children.

    In a statement on Saturday to CBS News, Scottish SPCA said the group was notified of the rescue and attended to oversee the welfare of the sheep.

    Before sending her to her new home, Wilson cut Fiona’s overgrown wool to an inch, so she fits in with the other sheep at the farm, he said on Facebook.

    The original article contains 696 words, the summary contains 186 words. Saved 73%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!