The documentary which airs on Thursday (June 6) explores gay behavior in animals, from monkeys to lions. It features American professor Charles Roselli, who says that in an average flock of sheep, eight percent are homosexual.
According to The Guardian, Roselli said his research “will allow for better selection of rams for breeding and, as a consequence, could be economically important for the sheep industry.”
The economic consequences for farmers of having “gay” sheep are also discussed in the documentary, why farmers can lose money if their rams are not interested in ewes.
Dewi Jones, a commercial breeder who is CEO of sheep breeding company Innovis, says homosexual sheep have to be sent to slaughter, so according to the The Independent.
“You see gay behavior happening”
“You see gay behavior happening. Commercially, it’s a big problem for us as a sheep farmer because we need our rams to cover a lot of sheep,” Jones said.
Roselli published a study in 2011, called “The Development of Masculine-Oriented Behavior in Sheep,” which says that gay behavior in sheep may be caused by factors including breeding, genetics and same-sex brain differences.
However, some are skeptical of sheep sexuality.
Phil Stocker, chief executive of the National Sheep Association, told The Independent that the allegations were “absurd” and that gay behavior in rams was below the high levels of testosterone during the breeding season.
