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THE BRANDON SUN • WINTER FAIR • MARCH 2024
Kids play with the sheep at the Royal Petting Zoo during the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair in Brandon. (Create Marketing)
A WOOLLY GOOD TIME Fair a great place to learn about sheep industry
BY MIRANDA LEYBOURNE Local Journalism Initiative
shear them, because [the wool] be- comes laden down with debris, and can become full of parasites, which is detrimental to the animals’ health,” he said. Sheep wool grows continuously, and except for “hair” breeds of sheep – animals that produce hair instead of wool – all sheep need to be sheared at least once a year, the Alberta Lamb Producers website states. In addition to the problems Atkinson mentioned, shearing helps prevent movement is- sues, wool blindness, and overheat- ing. In addition to educating people about how sheep farmers care for their animals, Atkinson also hopes that by seeing sheep and their own- ers at the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair, more people will begin to see lamb as a viable – and delicious – option for protein, alongside poultry, beef and pork.
industry, its website states. Formed in 1904 as the Manito- ba Sheep Breeders Association, the group is also a support and member of the Canadian Sheep Federation, Keystone Agricultural Producers, and the Manitoba Forage & Grassland As- sociation. Atkinson is looking forward to the sheep wrangling event that will take place on the evening of March 28. Although aimed at children, it’s an event that everyone who watches seems to enjoy, he said. “It’s good entertainment for the crowd. The crowd always gets behind those activities.” Education is a huge part of what the Provincial Exhibition of Manito- ba does at the fair, Atkinson said, and the Manitoba Sheep Association will be holding sheep shearing demon- strations to show people how essen- tial this part of caring for the animals truly is. “It’s an animal welfare issue not to
Heavy horses and cattle are making room for some smaller, fluffier fan fa- vourites at this year’s Royal Manitoba Winter Fair. The woolly wonders have long been part of Brandon’s winter fair, which is put on by the Provincial Ex- hibition of Manitoba, in an effort to celebrate the sheep industry across the Prairies and throughout Canada, said Simon Atkinson, chairperson of the Manitoba Sheep Association. “It’s a great place to come out to get some information, and we can point you in other directions, based on your interests,” he said. The association represents over 400 sheep and lamp producers – both commercial and purebred – across Manitoba, and its mission is to ac- tively initiate, support and conduct programs and activities that stimu- late and improve the wellbeing of the
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