Farmer Rescues Pregnant Sheep from Muddy Dam in Drought-Stricken Australia

4 年前

A pregnant ewe was hauled to safety by farmers in rural Australia on Saturday, September 21, amid a drought that has “devastated” the property.

Robert Phelps, who runs the farm near Rowena in northwestern New South Wales and shot this video, says he’s had to rescue at least 10 animals in the last week from silt and mud at the site of a dam.

“[She] probably thought it was on dry land, it was actually a quagmire, mud covered up with dust,” Phelps said.

Phelps said they had six dust storms in the previous ten days, which may have helped cover the muddy dam.

Wayne, who works on the farm, helped rescue the bogged ewe by tying a rope around her while standing on sheets of corrugated iron to displace his weight, as seen in this video.

The Department of Primary Industries said 100 percent of the of northwestern New South Wales is drought-affected, with 78.8 percent of the region in an intense drought. Credit: Robert Phelps via Storyful