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A West Australian worker is believed to have smashed the country’s quick sheep shearing record.
Ethan Harder competed in the Hamish Wills Memorial Quick Shear in Casuarina at the weekend, shearing a sheep in just 14.85 seconds.
“That’s the fastest I’ve ever been,” he told Radio 6PR on Tuesday.
The current record in WA is 19.34 seconds by Lou Brown set in November last year.
“As far was we know, it’s an Australian record for the fastest quick shear time,” a spokesperson for the organisers said.
“We only know of two other instances when a shearer has shorn a sheep in 14 seconds at a quick shear, but that was in New Zealand.”
The World Sheep Shearing Records Society governs attempts across Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom, and anyone attempting a record must give their secretary notice.
The society has been contacted for comment.
Video captured from the event shows Harder work his shears on the sheep, which was donated to the event for the evening by a local farmer.
Harder finishes the cut in record time, with the sheep walking away without a scratch.
“That’s a lot of years of experience – knowing the animals and how to treat them at the same time,” he said.
“We want to be good for the sport … so it is about learning how to control the sheep [safely].”
The second place winner was Koen Black with 15.27 seconds, followed by Brown at 18.88.
Harder, 26, already holds the world record for shearing 624 Merino lambs over an eight-hour period, but said Saturday’s event was a change of pace for him.
“It’s a bit of a change in the shearing industry, these speed shears, but it’s more about putting it out to the industry and trying to show everyone what we actually do,” he said.
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“No one wants to sit there and watch you shear for five minutes.”
The event was in honour of WA shearer Hamish Wills, who died suddenly aged 59 in June.
A stalwart of the industry, the quick shear was aimed at celebrating the community Wills spent his life being a part of.
Harder praised the event for bringing shearers together.
“It’s always good to see the boys and have a good competition, and sometimes you come out on top,” he said.
“If you keep working at it, I think there’s always going to be a better time to beat – there’s always room for improvement.”
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