"If bowling is a sport then sheep shearing definitely is, " said Alex Moser, 31, a shearer from Lester, Iowa.

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Ten years ago, Chamberlin, who is also a sheep farmer, noted during a sheep shearing session that he and his sheep were suffering from a massive fly infestation, while his pet cockatoo was being ignored by the flies.

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By our reckoning, just about every man and his dog is getting involved, and occasionally even some sheep ( Shearing and Wool Handling Championships).

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He too has been an absentee over the winter months, shearing sheep in New Zealand, but has returned this week.

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