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Border Leicester sheep have become a valued part of a young offenders’ rehabilitation programme, initiated by a prison service in Northern Ireland.
The introduction of Border Leicester sheep as part of a rehabilitation programme for young offenders in Northern Ireland has been credited as working miracles for the young men’s self-esteem.
Initiated by Northern Ireland Prison Service, sheep were introduced to Hydebank Wood College by vocational training officer and part-time sheep farmer Richard Graham and senior officer of workshops and education Michéle McElnea.
Many of the young men in here are fathers and it is incredible how this experience of being responsible for another life has prepared them for fatherhood
Prison sheep project helps rehabilitate young offenders >More in
Border Leicester sheep are being used to help rehabilitate young offenders in Northern Ireland.
The young men at Hydebank Wood College in South Belfast work with the sheep all year round and take responsibility for lambing the ewes within the college grounds.
Since purchasing the first sheep at the Lanark and Ballymena livestock market in 2016 – including a ram, two ewe lambs and two aged lambs – the young offenders have competed at the Balmoral Show, in Lisburn.
The prison has achieved two second-place finishes and staff have said introducing the sheep has “worked miracles for self-esteem”.
Livestock have become a valued part of a young offenders’ rehabilitation programme Border Leicester sheep have become a valued part of a young offenders’ rehabilitation programme. Sheep were first introduced at Hydebank Wood College in Northern Ireland after vocational training officer, and part-time sheep farmer, Richard Graham and senior officer of workshops and education, Michéle McElnea, saw the affects that agricultural and horticultural experiences were having within the prison. “Here at Hydebank, we deliver NVQ level one qualifications in horticulture,” Richard explained. “We teach young offenders how to grow vegetables, grow hanging baskets and shrubs, create Christmas wreaths and maintain the grassland. However, I always felt that we weren’t fulfilling our full scope.”