June tends to be a very busy month for sheep shearers across the country and this year, like every other, has been no different.

The shearing season for many contractors started much earlier, due to the fact that they were unable to hire seasonal workers to help them get through the busy workload in account of Covid-19.

Also Read: 'It's business as usual for us' - sheep shearer Karol Devaney'

To find out how the shearing season has been going so far, and if Covid-19 has had any impact on it, AgriLand spoke to Karol Devaney, a shearing contractor from Co. Sligo.

In the video (below), Karol demonstrates how to shear sheep and why it is important to carry out this task.

Speaking about why it is important to shear sheep, Karol said: “A number of problems are going to arise if you don’t shear your sheep.

When the weather is warm, it can be very uncomfortable for sheep to be going around with a full fleece of wool – which is the last thing we want happening.

“You will notice that if sheep haven’t been shorn they will look to go to areas where there is shade and if they aren’t shorn, they can end up becoming dehydrated.

“It’s just not good for the welfare of the animal. Furthermore, another problem associated with not shearing sheep is flystrike.”