A ewe known as “Britain’s loneliest sheep”, which was rescued after being stranded for two years at the foot of a cliff north of Inverness, is being used to promote a festive campaign to reduce loneliness in the farming community.
The three-year-old, now named Fiona, was rescued last month from a cave where she had sheltered from the harsh weather on the North Sea coast near Brora. Her fleece, which had grown so long it was dragging on the ground, was to be sold for charity.
She is now living at Dalscone farm park near Dumfries, which is closed to the public over winter. However, she has been conscripted into the Royal Scottish Agricultural Benevolent Institution’s (RSABI) Christmas campaign to combat loneliness.
The Scotch Mule cross Charollais ewe has also been photographed next to a placard promoting the Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs’ “AreEweOK?” mental health message.
“Fiona settled in here straight away and she’s doing really well,” said Ben Best, who runs Dalscone Farm. “We’re delighted that not only has she helped to raise £11,000 for RSABI and the Scottish SPCA, thanks to donations from people keen to help, she is now also helping to spread the word about such an important message at this time of year.”
Carol McLaren, the chief executive of RSABI, said: “We know there can be a lot of loneliness in the farming community, particularly at this time of year, and the #KeepTalking campaign highlights how important it is for people to keep in touch and keep an eye out for anyone who could be feeling low or lonely. We know that just a little kindness can make a massive difference for someone who is struggling.”
Fiona’s unlikely emergence as a mental health campaign tool may irk animal rights activists, who had sought to take her to a sanctuary near Glasgow. They were concerned she could be negatively impacted by the transformation from complete isolation to being an attraction at a petting zoo.
Members of the campaign group Animal Rising said they had intended to rescue the sheep themselves, after a kayaker spotted her and raised the alarm. But instead another group winched her up the cliff.
Robert Gordon, a spokesperson for Animal Rising, said: “All we want is for her to be in a sanctuary, not to be made a spectacle of in a petting zoo.”
However, Best has said Fiona would be “treated like a queen” on the farm and that she had five months to “settle in and make friends” before the farm reopened to the public for the summer. He said her welfare could be monitored via a Facebook Live stream.
“We are completely set up for this kind of thing. She is the most famous animal in the world at the moment. She is doing phenomenally and is eating well and drinking well.”
