AN online appeal to help farmers in the Balkans has been launched by a group of sheep shearers based on Exmoor and who also teach Culm Valley young farmers.

Hand2Shear is trying to raise £27,000 to buy shearing equipment to help Balkan farmers who are struggling to shear their sheep, which leads to animal welfare concerns.

Lack of skills, money, and shearers in western Balkan countries means some of the region’s six million sheep do not have their wool removed each year, which can cause them to overheat and die in the summer months.

The problem is made worse by a worldwide shortage of sheep shearers, leading to many taking more lucrative work in places such as Australia and New Zealand.

Hand2Shear, a group of skilled shearers, hopes to buy a mobile shearing trailer and equipment, which will help them reach sheep in remote Balkans areas which do not have any shearing infrastructure or electricity.

The trailer, custom made in Devon, will make it easier to shear rare and remote sheep which are being missed in the mountains, as well as provide a safe working environment and better conditions for the shearers.

The group has been working closely for the past few years with farmers in western Balkan countries to train them how to shear their small flocks of sheep with modern techniques rather than using old-fashioned hand shears and scissors.

Shearing the sheep each year is crucial to the animals’ health and wellbeing, helping to prevent and treat infestations of parasites such as ticks, lice, and maggots that can cause deadly ‘fly strike’.

Group member Daniel Floyd, who is leading the fund-raising, said: “I started Hand2Shear in 2018, while shearing in the Balkan countries.

“I noticed they did not have the infrastructure or funds to shear.

“These are countries that have the original sheep, small flocks of rare breeds, and they need to be sheared.

“With a trailer, we can reach these remote mountain sheep and take their fleeces off.

“It is critical to save these species for future generations.”

Sheep are key to the Balkan economy, with animals which are distinct from the breeds in surrounding regions.

Historically, the Balkans and Italy were the original hubs from which sheep dispersed over the rest of Europe.

Mr Floyd said rare and endangered breeds were now protected in Croatia and Slovenia, but could be lost if welfare measures such as shearing were not put in place to protect them.

The four-person trailer and equipment should enable Hand2Shear to shear up to 50,000 sheep every three months during the shearing season.

The trailer would also be used to give shearing training to Balkan farmers.

Mr Floyd said members of Culm Valley Young Farmers would be welcome to join Hand2Shear on the mobile shearing trailer, as one of its four stands was dedicated to training.

He said: “My vision is to attract more young people to become shearers and raise the profile of shearing as a profession”.

The fund-raising appeal can be found here.