This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/03/click-go-the-shears-on-overgrown-sheep-as-top-shearer-ian-elkins-gets-to-work

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Click go the shears on overgrown sheep as fleece sets world record of 42kg Click go the shears on overgrown sheep as fleece sets world record of more than 40kg
(about 3 hours later)
The fleece from a mammoth woolly sheep rescued near Canberra is the heaviest ever recorded, animal welfare experts have claimed. Chris the sheep has broken world records after having 40.45kg of fleece trimmed in potentially life-saving surgery on Thursday.
The merino sheep received its much-needed shearing from champion shearer Ian Elkins on Thursday. Related: Shaun the sheep finally shorn but Shrek was shaggier
Elkins began shearing about 9am and took about 45 minutes to finish the first pass. The 47cm fleece weighed in at 42kg, the ABC reported, smashing the record of 27kg set by New Zealand sheep Shrek in 2004. Spotted by a bushwalker in the Mulligans Flats area near the NSW-ACT border, Chris was carrying such a heavy load that animal welfare experts feared he would not make it through the summer.
The sheep, which was spotted by a bushwalker and rescued by RSPCA staff, might have had as much as five years’ wool on it, the chief executive of the RSPCA in the ACT, Tammy Ven Dange, said on Twitter. He was brought into the RSPCA’s Canberra facility and trimmed by champion shearer Ian Elkins, who answered the organisation’s call for help.
Almost done of first pass. 2nd pass then vet check. I'll be offline for 1hr. Please see @rspcaact for more updates. pic.twitter.com/UzV6gVUv4M Elkins had to do the shearing in two layers and needed four helpers to do the job. He began shearing about 9am and took about 45 minutes to finish the first pass.
It could barely walk with the weight of the wool, Ven Dange said, and it was feared its life might have been in danger. Elkins believes he cut seven years’ worth of growth – double the sheep’s body weight.
Clipping of our favourite sheep has begun at @rspcaact! pic.twitter.com/2e0kGJmLI3 “I wouldn’t say it is high quality, but you wouldn’t expect it to be after so long in the bush,” Elkins said of the fleece.
Elkins said he “smashed Shrek’s record of 27kg no worries”, the Canberra Times reported. “It’s amazing it’s survived all these years out in the wild,” he said.
“I don’t think he’s been shorn before, and I think he’s five or six years old,” he said. “I wouldn’t say it is high quality, but you wouldn’t expect it to be after so long in the bush.” Chris’s fleece pipped Shaun from Tasmania (23.5kg) and New Zealander Shrek (27kg) – fellow rogue sheep who evaded the shearing shed for years.
Elkins had to do the shearing in two layers and needed four helpers to do the job. “It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen,” Elkins said.
Chris was said to be feeling fine after his makeover.
“He’s gone from a very shy sheep to one that wants cuddles now,” RSPCA ACT boss Tammy Ven Dange said. “He’s looking really good right now.”
The sheep could barely walk with the weight of the wool, Ven Dange said, and it was feared its life might have been in danger.
The sheep will be checked by vets, but initial indications were it came through the process relatively well and there was no evidence of flystrike.The sheep will be checked by vets, but initial indications were it came through the process relatively well and there was no evidence of flystrike.
The average fleece weighs 5kg and takes just three minutes to shear.The average fleece weighs 5kg and takes just three minutes to shear.