A Welsh farmer has bequeathed land, including one of Snowdonia's
most spectacular mountains, to his beloved sheep.
Terry Davis and his family had farmed the area below Moel Siabod
for over 70 years concentating on building a flock of pure-bred, prize-winning,
Badger Faced Welsh Mountain Sheep. Sadly the decline in hill farming
and limited financial opportunities resulted in sons Bryn and
Llewellyn seeking work elsewhere and after the death of his wife two
years ago, Davis was thrown on his own devices until he died suddenly
last month aged 87.
Remarkably, in his will published yesterday, the farmer left over
70 acres of land including the summit and northern slopes of shapely
Moel Siabod to his flock of Badger Faced Sheep. Solicitor and
executor of the will, David Jones of Llanberis agreed that the
bequest was an unusual one, but stressed that he was looking into
ways of managing the land on behalf of the animals, which he did not
believe were legally capable of carrying out most of the day to day
tasks inherent in running a hill farm.
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Master of all it surveys, but day
to day
running of a farm by sheep is mutt on
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'It's quite possible that we will look into the feasibility of a
tenant farmer managing the land for the financial benefit of the
beneficiaries of the will,' commented Mr Jones. 'In that case any
surplus income will go to bettering the conditions of the sheep on
the hill, improving facilities for them and sourcing high quality
feeds.'
'It's all very Orwellian...'
An RSPCA spokesperson commented: 'It's not unusual for bequests to
be made to domestic pets, but this is the first case we know of where
a working business has been left solely to agricultural livestock.
It's all very Orwellian and we are watching developments with
interest. Our first priority obviously, is the welfare of the
sheep.'
Meanwhile Davis's two sons are believed to be contesting the will
on the grounds that the farmer was not of sound mind in the months
preceding his death. 'His thinking had become rather woolly,' said
Bryn at an impromptu press conference. 'We've nothing against the
sheep, but the mad old bastard has really fleeced us.'
As far as we can tell there are unlikely to be any implications
for access to the mountain, though walkers may want to listen out for
bleating renditions of the classic cry of 'Get orf moi land'.
Daniel Sells
