Scottish Farmer Winds Up American Tourists By Painting Her Sheep Tartan

Scottish people are well known for their dry sense of humour; Americans carry the stereotype of sometimes being a bit gullible. What happens when these two opposite worlds collide? We are left with tartan patterned sheep.

Maxine Scott, 62, has been having American tourists off for the last 10 years, by claiming that her two ewes, Daisy and April, turn a lovely shade of tartan and drink Irn-Bru.

SWNS

The sheep can be found on Auchingarrich Wildlife Centre, Comrie, Perthshire, and are decorated using marker spray, used by farmers to identify sheep during lamb numbering.

The centre is popular with tourists from around the world and so Maxine has put up a sign explaining that the sheep turn that colour naturally. The informative sign goes on to tell how the wool is then used to make kilts.

A sign on the enclosure describes about their diet, and that they eat 'mainly grass, but are known to enjoy Irn Bru and Scottish Tablet or shortbread'.

Maxine said: "When we got the park, they always had tartan sheep. It was just for the tourists.

"We just continued the tradition. The public do like it - Americans are really impressed by them.

"We have got a sign up saying the lambs come out normal, but they change as they grow older and tartan starts to develop."

SWNS

The sign goes on to say: "A spectacular sight to see, tartan sheep were first discovered here at Auchingarrich many years ago.

"When sheared, their wool can be used to make tartan kilts, scarves and blankets.

"As a lamb they will look similar to a regular sheep, as their colours won't fully show until they are about a year old.

"Then as they get older their colours can change, so if you visit us again you may see a new tartan."

Maxine has been decorating the sheep for the last 10 years, since buying the farm.

She added: "You can buy marker spray, if they are lambing or in a race you would mark them with spray to identify which is which, to tell if they have all been done.

"We tried hair dye, that worked quite well, but we've gone back to using the marker spray.

"Certainly American visitors seem to think it's funny."

Topics: UK News, Scotland

Amelia Ward

Amelia is a journalist at LADbible. After studying journalism at Liverpool John Moores and Salford Uni (don't ask), she went into PR and then the world of music. She spent a few years working on festivals and events before joining LADbible. In her spare time, Amelia likes music and spending good, quality time with her cat, Paul. You can contact Amelia at [email protected].

@ameliasward