Uruguayan sheep shearers to rescue millions of animals from sweltering heat in Spain
Spanish farmers chip in to pay for chartered flight from South America
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More than 200 Uruguayan sheep shearers who arrived in Spain last month on a chartered flight are racing against time to shear millions of animals before temperatures rise.
The Uruguayan shearers travel to the country every year, but their arrival was delayed this year by a month because of the pandemic.
Bypassing lockdown restrictions, 250 of them managed to reach Spain on a special flight in mid-May.
The shearers are so valued for their skills that Spanish farmers gave money to charter a plane for them, after their journey looked doubtful because of border closures, flight cancellations and restrictions on movement.
The farmers, who even requested help from the Spanish King, convinced the government to approve the stay. As part of the agreement, the shearers were tested for Covid-19 in Uruguay before they left.
Federico Ventura, one of the workers, said: "I've been coming here for six years. Because of the coronavirus, everything was delayed, but we're moving at a good pace.”
Mr Ventura is shearing sheep at a farm roughly 300 kilometres northwest of Madrid in the northern region of Castilla y Leon, where each worker is likely to shear 10,000 animals over a 70-day period.
He explained that his work in Spain was crucial to his livelihood, saying: "With the 70 days here we live for a year in Uruguay."
Farmer owner Angel Leon said three or four Uruguayan shearers can shear 750 sheep between them each day, while less experienced workers would take up to a month to complete the same task.
The Uruguayans earn 1.5 euros (£1.36) plus tax per animal they shear.
"Had they not come, we would not have been able to shear," said Jose Moran, one of the farmers who helped to pay for their flight.
Additional reporting from Reuters
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