Sheep farm work in Australia

[Deleted]

The daughter of one of my colleagues has been in Australia for the last 5 months on a WHV programme. She is half Chinese and looks like a manga heroine -- age 24 going on 17.

Anyway, her latest job is on a sheep farm, and she sent me an email to tell me that one of her duties is to kill old useless sheep. They cram them into a truck and she shoots them with a rifle. "Not very glorious work," she commented.

Frankly, I don't think that I would much enjoy that job either.

She is flying on to Vietnam in 3 weeks -- lucky her! Her parents are livid, because then she wants to go to Mongolia.

[bixaorellana]

That seems like an overly cruel way to dispose of the sheep!

She sounds like a great girl -- good for her for having found a way to do some real traveling.

What is WHV?

[hwinpp]

Why don't they eat them? Too tough?

[Deleted]

Yes, apparently these sheep aren't good for anything anymore. They probably get ground up into food pellets for salmon farms or something.

[bjd]

WHV is Working Holiday Visa.

[Deleted]

Sorry, Bixa -- I hadn't noticed the question. Certain enlightened countries have reciprocal agreements so that young adults can spend 6 months discovering another country and even get a job while they are there.

This sheep-killing girl has worked in a bar in WA (but not a skimpy bar, as far as I know), picked fruit, sorted vegetables and various other things. She and some friends made along the way bought a van in Perth and drove all the way to Brisbane in it, via Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney. That is one hell of a long drive.

[bixaorellana]

This is a girl who won't be looking back 30 & 40 years from now, saying "Oh, if I'd only ....."

Just great!