Adorable pictures show sheep with huge record-breaking coat of wool
AN Australian merino sheep has set a new unofficial world record for the heaviest wool haul from one shearing.
Chris the sheep standing proudly in his 40kg wool coat
The sheep, affectionately named Chris, was given an emergency hair cut by a team of five shearers on Thursday, removing more than 40kg of wool.
Welfare crews called National Shearing Champion Ian Elkins in on Wednesday, after fearing Chris was at risk of death because it was so wooly from living in the wild for several years.
"It was certainly a challenge. In all my 35 years of work, I've never seen anything like it" said Mr Elkins, after Thursday's marathon procedure.
Weighing in at around "four-to-five times its normal size", according to Animal Welfare Officials, Chris had to be sedated before going under the knife.
Chris' giant wooly coat made him "four-to-five times" his normal size
Champion shearer Ian Elkins gives Chris a haircut
Chris the sheep's record-breaking 40kg coat
The previous record was set in 2004 by Shrek, the New Zealand merino sheep, whose enormous 27kg (60lb) fleece was snipped in a televised shearing broadcast live around the world.
Mr Elkins spoke of his pride in claiming the record from New Zealand, comparing it to "the rivalry on the rugby field".