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July 8, 2005

450 Sheep Jump to Their Deaths in Turkey

A 450 sheep pileup created havok in a Turkish province recently.

450 Sheep Jump to Their Deaths in Turkey (AP)

First one sheep jumped to its death. Then stunned Turkish shepherds, who had left the herd to graze while they had breakfast, watched as nearly 1,500 others followed, each leaping off the same cliff, Turkish media reported. In the end, 450 dead animals lay on top of one another in a billowy white pile, the Aksam newspaper said. Those who jumped later were saved as the pile got higher and the fall more cushioned, Aksam reported.

"There's nothing we can do. They're all wasted," Nevzat Bayhan, a member of one of 26 families whose sheep were grazing together in the herd, was quoted as saying by Aksam.

The estimated loss to families in the town of Gevas, located in Van province in eastern Turkey, tops $100,000, a significant amount of money in a country where average GDP per head is around $2,700.

"Every family had an average of 20 sheep," Aksam quoted another villager, Abdullah Hazar as saying. "But now only a few families have sheep left. It's going to be hard for us."

I found the story just short of post-worthy until I saw Ann Althouse's take on the story: "Sheep are such sheep."

via OTB

Posted by at July 8, 2005 1:45 PM
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450 Sheep Jump to Their Deaths in Turkey from Outside The Beltway
A 450 sheep pileup created havok in a Turkish province recently. 450 Sheep Jump to Their Deaths in Turkey (AP) First one sheep jumped to its death. Then stunned Turkish shepherds, who had left the herd to graze while they had breakfast, watched as... [Read More]

Tracked on July 8, 2005 1:51 PM

Comments

Death before dishonour!!

Posted by: Kathy Shaidle at July 8, 2005 1:49 PM

You're a riot, Kathy! :)

Posted by: Mike at July 8, 2005 2:30 PM

Already the hooves of blame are pointing - "I blame ewe!"

Posted by: Kate at July 8, 2005 3:07 PM

Heard on the radio this morning in response to this story: " Was Christine MaGee seen in the vacinity?"
I scratched my head thinkging.. WHO is Christine MaGee.. then I remembered the commercials for Sleep Country mattresses.
I am sure that those in Turkey who have lost their livlihood don't think so, but this IS very funny
.

Posted by: Snowbunnie at July 8, 2005 3:17 PM


This is a very sad story, and quite a loss for the families. But, take heart there is a moral to it. It's how I see Canadians - the sheep following the sheep. We seem to be following them right to our societal death. I sure hope there are a few goats among us.

Posted by: jypsy ontario at July 8, 2005 3:22 PM

Wow, is Warren Kinsella in Turkey?

http://nomoresocialism.blogspot.com/2005/04/kinsella-and-sheep.html

Posted by: Richard Evans at July 8, 2005 3:29 PM

This is why I don't own sheep.

Posted by: Paul of York at July 8, 2005 8:47 PM

MP Joe Comartin banned from church
nealenews

NDP MP Joe Comartin.

Yup, that's his name: Comartin.
http://www.rapp.org/url/?TMS2413C

Posted by: maz2 at July 8, 2005 9:25 PM

Can't figure out why this is news.We have 10,000,000 sheep who commit suicide every election!Abd their shepards are a friggin Capo and a Fidel wanna-be.

Posted by: Fubar at July 8, 2005 9:34 PM

And BTW Snowbunnie...lol

Posted by: fubar at July 8, 2005 9:35 PM

For the want of a few good border collies...

Posted by: Monique at July 9, 2005 12:01 AM

These sheep have demonstrated the fudamentalist creed of suicide bombers. eh?

Uninformed lost souls who follow one another into bomb oblivion, taking innocents with them, due to OBL whose nose is out of joint becuse he got royally ripped off with US investments.
73s TG

Posted by: TonyGuitar at July 9, 2005 1:18 PM

What was the Foreign Affairs department doing in Turkey?

Posted by: Iron Lady at July 9, 2005 6:22 PM

Kate and friends, I had to tie a riff on this. Thanks for the tip. Stop by and see a Pythonian moment.

Posted by: bob at July 10, 2005 12:09 AM
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