Scottish Farmer Paints Sheep in Plaid Colors to Prank Tourists

Paula Liu
By Paula Liu
April 22, 2019Trending
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Scottish Farmer Paints Sheep in Plaid Colors to Prank Tourists
Sheep on a Gippsland farm in rural Victoria, Australia. (Max Pixel [Creative Commons Zero - CC0])

A farmer is getting a whole lot of laughs from painting her sheep in colorful patterns as a joke to prank tourists, of course, all in good fun.

The owner of the Auchingarrich Wildlife Centre in Comrie, Perthshire, Maxine Scott, spray-painted the wool on her ewes, April and Daisy, into a plaid or tartan color, claiming that the color was a result of the ewes’ special diet—Irn Bru, a popular Scottish drink, according to the Daily Record.

In addition to the ewes’ spray-paint decoration, Scott put up a sign that explained that the sheep turned that color naturally, and the wool sheared off of these sheep would be used to make kilts and blankets.

Our Tartan Sheep's colours have grown in quite nicely dont you think? 😉 Just in time for Easter! ????????

Posted by Auchingarrich Wildlife Centre on Thursday, April 18, 2019

According to the news outlet, the sign read, “a spectacular sight to see, Tartan sheep were first discovered here at Auchingarrich many years ago.”

The sign made sure to note that these sheep may look similar to regular sheep while in their infant stage, as their wool won’t change color until these sheep turn one.

“As they get older, their colors can change so if you visit us again you may see a new tartan,” the sign said. It also mentioned information about the sheep themselves, such as what their life span and size are. What’s more—the owners even included a diet section: “Mainly grass but are known to enjoy Irn Bru and Scottish Tablets or Shortbread.”

According to iNews, Maxine Scott bought the park 10 years ago, and since then, she’s been decorating the sheep in tartan colors. She told the news outlet that when they got the wildlife center, these tartan sheep already existed, and were mostly there for the tourists for a good laugh.

“We just continued to the tradition,” Scott said, “The public do like it—Americans are really impressed by them.”

According to the news outlet, Scott said she used marker spray to give the ewes a new makeover. She said that people use marker spray to mark their sheep to identify them either during the lambing process or during a race.

Scott said she tried hair dye, and although it worked well before, she decided to go back to using marker spray.

The ewes themselves seem to enjoy their new decorated wool, and the American neighbors as well as tourists seem to get a kick out of it.

“Certainly American visitors seem to think it’s funny,” Scott said.

The Auchingarrich Wildlife Park

For more than 10 years, the Scott family have been running the Auchingarrich Wildlife Park. They offer an assortment of services and activities for families who visit the park such as hatching and handling chicks, Mini Golf, Milking cows, and fishing.

In addition to the activities people can partake in, the park also has its own coffee shop, headed by park staff Shirley Simpson and Adrienne Hannah. The coffee shop also has a list of seasonal staff joining on the team for the busier times of the year.

According to the park’s website, Maxine Scott is one of the full-time keepers along with another keeper named Karen. They have been at the park for a number of years and have dedicated much of their time to caring for the animals’ health and welfare.

Latest arrivals – Finn,Flora and Freddy Feed times daily 12 and 3 pm

Posted by Auchingarrich Wildlife Centre on Monday, February 25, 2019

The park offers birthday parties, pony rides, and has a party room that people can use.

The park holds other types of animals, both exotic and normal farm animals. The website holds a collection of images dedicated to all the animals present at the park, such as lemurs, turtles, goats, and peacocks.

Family day out at Auchingarrich

Our new video for our website!

Posted by Auchingarrich Wildlife Centre on Friday, August 26, 2016

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