NZ sheep shearers want Olympic status

The New Zealand Farmers Federation wants sheep shearing to become an Olympic sport.

With the World Shearing Championships set to be held in the North Island town of Masterton in March, federation spokeswoman Jeanette Maxwell said shearing was now a bona fide sport that deserved international recognition.

“Surely, time has come to elevate shearing’s sporting status to the ultimate world stage?” she said in a statement. “One way would be to make shearing a demonstration sport at a Commonwealth Games, if not, the Olympics itself.”

Maxwell, reported by AFP, said competitive shearers clip up to 700 sheep over an eight-hour period, in a feat that has been likened to running two marathons back-to-back.

“I can also testify to the physical effort shearing takes… (top shearers) are athletes who take it to another level,” she said.

New Zealand has a human population of about 4.4 million which is outnumbered by a national sheep flock of around 40 million, according to Statistics New Zealand.

THE MOLE VIEW: We’re right behind the sheep shearers. Is there still time to get them to London to compete in Trafalgar Square? At the expense of synchronised swimming?