Distressing story behind farmer's photo of bloodied lamb 'with two holes in its head'
WARNING - DISTRESSING CONTENT: A sheep farmer has shared distressing images of a badly injured lamb to highlight the “reality of the drought”.
The lamb had been set upon by wedgetail eagles after briefly separating from its mother on the family’s farm in the Orana region of northern NSW.
“[The lamb] has two large holes in his head and a very swollen little face,” Toni Clark, who runs the Facebook page Farmer’s Wife, Farmer’s Life, wrote online.
She revealed as the starving ewes on their farm became weaker they were no longer able to protect their lambs.
“This may distress some people - but this is the reality of drought,” she said, adding she’d taken the lamb indoors to try and nurse it back to full health.
Calls for more government drought funding
Ms Clark called on the government to make a meaningful effort to help the struggling farmers after previous funding and current government packages have done very little to ease the situation.
She revealed the farm has spent over $100,000 this year on feed for their livestock and worried how quickly the money would dry up.
“We don’t need loans for sheds and silos, we need help with stock feed. And what does that cost? Well our last bill was $24,000 and that won’t last long. That was the 5th feed bill this year for us - you do the math.”
“And we do it all alone. Every animal sold actually feeds the ones left behind.”
She said she was well aware there are other farmers in far worse situations and she and her family weren’t pleading for handouts.
She suggested a change in financial loans to help them buy feed as a solution to their woes.
Ms Clark’s post clearly resonated with her page’s followers, receiving over 3000 shares.
In an update the following day, she announced the lamb died from its injuries which were “too severe”.
“He died peacefully in his sleep and looked very rested when we went out this morning. He was loved for the short time we had him,” she said.
Changes to lending needed to protect farmers
Ms Clark’s calls for changes to loans for farmers were echoed by the ACCC last week, who called for banks to repay interest charged to drought-affected farmers on overdrawn accounts.
The consumer watchdog wants to ban banks from charging interest on overdrawn accounts, or force them to repay any interest charged.
The Australian Banking Association has put forward its own changes to the industry's code of practice, including banning informal overdrafts unless requested by the customer.
But the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says that doesn't go far enough.
"The proposed changes to the code should result in public benefits, by giving customers on low incomes better access to affordable banking, and to address a source of significant harm to farmers experiencing drought," ACCC deputy chair Delia Rickard said on Friday.
With AAP
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