Farmers at a north-east mart were caught by surprise when a bright pink ewe went up for grabs as part of a fundraising effort for a local charity.
Wendy Willox, of Clatt, placed the sheep up to auction at the Thainstone Centre, near Inverurie, as a way of generating cash for Clan Cancer Support.
She decided to put the Texel Gemmer, which was in lamb, up for sale after a number of her friends were affected by the disease.
As a means of helping the sheep grab the eyes of potential buyers, she decided to dye the animal’s wool in pink dye for its appearance in the auction ring.
And the mart’s owners, ANM Group, also waived its commission on the sale of the sheep after hearing of her efforts.
Ms Willox made £750 for the charity from the sale, with the cheque presented to Clan’s Aberdeenshire area co-ordinator, Gemma Powell, in Inverurie.
The sheep, labelled “the pink lady”, was bought by Elaine and Alan Simpson, from Mains of Leslie, Insch.
She has since gone on to have two lambs – and traces of her pink coat are still discernible.
The animal was sold on by the star of hit TV show, The Mart, auctioneer Colin Slessor.
Ms Powell said: “On behalf of Clan, I would like to thank Wendy for her wonderful donation, and also for raising awareness of Clan at one of Thainstone’s largest annual events.
“We would also like to thank ANM Group for kindly waiving its fee for Wendy’s sale, and to auctioneer Colin Slessor who helped get an excellent price on the day.
“The ingenious ways which people find to fundraise for Clan never ceases to amaze us. We really appreciate all the support we receive from both the ANM Group and from the farming community throughout the north-east.”
Thainstone Mart is the heart of the north-east, and much of Scotland’s, farming industry. It is one of the biggest markets of its kind in Europe.
It has annual sales in excess of £90million and deals with hundreds of thousands of cattle and sheep every year.
Clan supports cancer patients in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray, Orkney and Shetland.
For more information about the charity’s services, call 01224 647000 or visit: www.clanhouse.org
