Sheep sector warns of looming shortage of shearers

Scotland's sheep sector says there could be a shortage of shearers next year due to planned change to migrant labour rules. Each year, 75 sheep shearers from New Zealand and Australia have been able to apply for a seasonal concession allowing them to live and work in the UK for about three months. The UK government has extended the arrangement for this year's shearing season, but it will end on 30 June. It says the sector has had 14 years to train up a "resilient and sustainable" British workforce. But Skye-based contractor Malcolm White said: "Although we've seen an increase in local young shearers, it still wouldn't be anything like enough." Domesticated sheep do not moult so are sheared to prevent them from overheating in warm weather and becoming infested by pests such as ticks. Their wool is used for textiles and other products. Skye contractor White has been in the sheep shearing business for 35 years. He said the relaxed rules around overseas workers should not be changed because there were too many sheep to be sheared in a short space of time. "I think it should stay as it is - it's worked perfectly well for the last few years," he told BBC Naidheachdan. The National Sheep