UK immigration rules may lead to sheep shearer shortage
July 15 2010 by Liam Clifford
Farmers in the UK have raised concerns about the effect that new UK immigration restrictions may have on the number of foreign sheep shearers allowed to work in the UK this year.
Each summer, around 500 sheep shearers come to work in
the UK to help shear some 14.5 million animals. Sheep shearers from New Zealand
are particularly important to UK livestock farmers and they are understandably
concerned that new restrictions on non-EU UK immigration could prevent the
required number from moving to the UK for the summer season.
Will
Dickinson, a sheep farmer from Scotland, told the BBC: “If I can't get hold of
New Zealand shearers I don't know how we'd manage it." He added that it was
impossible to find the staff to do the job from the domestic workforce.
Dickinson explained, “There just aren't enough people who want to take it up.
Hard work seems to be frowned upon, no-one wants to work so hard any
more."
The government has hinted that certain skilled professions will be
exempt from the restrictions on UK work visas for non-EU nationals.
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