Community Lens for July 20

Patti White submitted this photo of Irish sheep. Many tourists to the Emerald Isle romanticize about these creatures as they roam the countrysides. However, the sheep population in Ireland had been on the decline from 3005 to 2010. In December 2010, there were 2.2 million breeding ewes in Ireland, a 1.35% increase on the previous year, according to the Department of Agriculture’s sheep census. The poor returns, the relatively high average age of sheep farmers and the heavy labor demands of sheep flocks, contributed to the previously dwindling numbers. Fortunes improved in 2010 and 2011 as prices in Ireland responded to the global tightening in supply of sheep-meat. The top five counties in terms of sheep numbers are all characterised by mountainous terrain – Donegal, Galway, Mayo, Kerry and Wicklow. In counties such as Cork, Tipperary, Carlow and Kilkenny, sheep numbers are under pressure as farmers switch to other enterprises, particularly dairy and beef.