Farmer Sutra! Are gay rams really a problem in the sheep industry?

One in 12 sheep shows same-sex preferences, according to a Channel 4 documentary. Unfortunately, there are commercial ramificationsA breeding ram has only one job. What if he can't perform? "Unfortunately, he'll have to go into the food chain," said Dewi Jones, the chief executive of the sheep-breeding company Innovis, speaking on a Channel 4 documentary, My Gay Dog and Other Animals, which will be broadcast on Thursday. The show reports that one in 12 sheep is gay. "There is ram-on-ram behaviour going on over there," Jones says, watching his rams. Putting three of the male-oriented rams into a pen with a ewe to see which are interested in her, one uninterested ram is classed as a "shy breeder". "Commercially, it's a big issue for us as a breeding company or as a ram breeder because we need our rams to cover lots of ewes."Many species - including sheep, penguins, monkeys and dolphins - have been shown to display same-sex preferences. Perhaps the most famous example came to light in 2014, when Benji, a Charolais bull in County Mayo, Ireland, was due to be slaughtered after showing no interest in the heifers he was bought to breed with. Campaigners raised money to send him to a sanctuary instead (although it emerged the following year that he may not be "gay" after all, "judging by what he was trying to do the other day with one of the cows," said his new owner). Continue reading...