Sheep, the best medicine
If you’d like to cut down on trips to the doctor, why not treat baby to one of our Sheepland Special “Baby-Safe” Sheepskin Baby Fleece? These cosy, luxurious fleeces are machine washable and suitable for prams, pushchairs and cots. A study presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress has found that babies who sleep on sheepskin, or other animal fur, in their first three months have a decreased risk of asthma at age ten. Sheepskins are pesticide-free, they regulate the baby’s temperature, keeping him/her cool in summer and warm in winter and they are comfortable and comforting. Microscopic organisms in the sheepskin strengthen the baby’s immune system, also reducing hayfever and wheezing. Sheepskin reduces stress, improves weight gain and induces better sleep. It has also been recommended that once baby is able to turn himself/herself over, discontinue the use of animal fleeces in the cot, but continue to use them in strollers or as playrugs, etc. This reduces the possibility of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome).
How can a living sheep save you from the effects of snakebite, scorpion and killer bee stings, and venomous spider bites? Do you have to take the sheep on holiday with you?
Answers: 1) by producing antibodies from living sheep’s blood. On Blaen Farm in Wales, this method, which is both cheaper and more effective than using antibodies from dead animals, has helped save lives worldwide. 2) Obviously not, unless you can’t get by without bleating at the breakfast table.
Each sheep is immunised monthly with tiny amounts of venom from the deadliest snakes, bees, spiders and scorpions, which causes the sheep to produce antibodies. The sheep donate a pint of blood per month and this is used to create antidotes to the toxins. In Nigeria, the lethally venomous carpet viper kills around 10,000 people annually. In Australia, which is home to the three deadliest snakes in the world, the inland taipan, the brown snake and the coastal taipan (in descending order of deadliness), the advice given by Australians, if you are bitten by the first of these is: don’t bother to seek help, just light a cigarette and wait. One bite from the inland taipan can kill 100 human adults, but fortunately for us, they live in extremely remote areas and are shy and retiring (what a comfort), unlike their relative, the coastal taipan. The latter is aggressive and don’t be deceived by its name; it has been found hundreds of miles inland.
Forty-one year old Emma Turner from Wiltshire owes her life to her pet sheep, Alfie. One day, Alfie, usually a placid creature, repeatedly head- butted her in the chest. He had never done that before and hasn’t done it since. A large bruise with a lump in the middle developed on Emma’s chest, which proved to be cancer. If Alfie had not butted her, Emma would not have seen her doctor and the cancer would have spread before effective treatment could be administered. (So, maybe Emma should book a plane ticket for her fleecy friend.)
Released On 4th Jul 2018
