I had a phone call recently from one of the Trust’s tenant farmers to say he had a sheep stuck on a crag. They jump down to a ledge with grass but then can’t jump back up. They eat everything on the ledge and then either starve or fall off the crag. Farmers with crag-fast sheep ring me and I with other members of the rescue team will go to the scene.
Over the years we have developed a technique where we try to approach from below the sheep. I will abseil down on one rope whilst being belayed from the top with a second rope as a safety rope. I go down below the sheep and will then climb back up to its position. If the sheep panics and jumps off, which they often do, I will be able to catch them. We’ve found that the best way is to approach them very slowly without looking at them and appearing to hunt them. It’s also a good idea to take down some vegetation to throw onto the ledge. They might be distracted as they eat. As soon as they are within reach, they can be grabbed and manoeuvred off their feet so they are less likely to struggle and either fall or give the rescuer a good kicking. So far this has been a successful technique.
For this last rescue on Cam Crag above Langstrath. I’d climbed up to the ledge and the sheep worked its way to the back of the ledge. After a few minutes, I was able to grab it and sling it with a couple of slings so that it could be hauled up to the top of the crag. Rescuing sheep is carried out for animal welfare reasons (better than they starve or fall to death or serious injury) but it is also very good rope-work practice. Rescuing a reluctant sheep is more challenging than rescuing a cooperative human! It is also safer that we do it with our training and equipment than it would be for many farmers.
We don’t just do this for the Trust’s farmers but, like other rescue teams, will do it for all farmers within their areas. It’s always good to release a sheep safely and see it wander off to carry on grazing.
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