'Bulldoggers' in wild and woolly roundup

Yesterday afternoon, four straggly rogue sheep, which may not have been shorn for four or five years, were captured on the slopes of Winterslow Station, near Methven, by sheep wranglers Don Greig, 50, and Paul Cornelius, 55.

Considering the sheep are ovine, not canine, it is ironic that the term for this type of capture is "bulldogging".

A merino named Shrek emerged as a media darling in 2004 with a 38cm fleece weighing 27.5kg.

However, the sheep removed from the high country yesterday afternoon were Perendale their capture is more difficult because they tend to run downhill, not uphill like the merino, which tires more easily.

Cornelius said the key to bulldogging was to get as close as possible one or two metres above the sheep and steer clear of areas covered in scree.

"You get them off their feet and once you've got them, they relax a bit," he said.

"You tip them upside down and tie their feet. Hook them up, hop back in the helicopter and away you go."

Mount Hutt Helicopters pilot Blair Chapman spotted the flock of four about three months ago and said yesterday's conditions made it easy to drop the men almost on top of each sheep though there were a handful of misses.

Dangling from the bottom of the helicopter, each sheep was airlifted to the top of a ridge and dropped off, still hog-tied.

The heap of sheep lay panting, while they were rolled onto a net.

As the wranglers rolled each woolly beast, Greig asked: "How come I got the dirty end?"

Cornelius answered: "Because I knew what I was doing and took a look."

The sheep were caught for two fundraising days at Winterslow Station on January 24 and February 28 to raise money for the Methven Heritage Project.

Station owner David Wightman plans to open his station for two days of four-wheel driving, including a tour and history of the land. There will also be a competition to guess the weight of fleeces.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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S. McGee   #1   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

Sounds like animal cruelty to me...

simon keane   #2   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

This isn't doing much for the reputation of New Zealand folk abroad, Simon, London

sarah   #3   05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

this is very crewl to the poor sheep. the lovely sheep is just out minding his own business and then whamm! a person drops from the sky on them and basicly tauturs the poor thing. whats hapening to the sheep now? do they get shawn and set free or live on a nice farm? let me gess no they will kill them how crewl.

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