This international patent application claims priority from Australian provisional patent application 200890451 1 filed on 29 August 2009, the contents of which are to be taken as incorporated herein by this reference.

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for restraining and positioning an animal, such as is often required in order to undertake various animal husbandry tasks. In particular, the apparatus and method of the present invention has been specifically developed for use in the shearing of livestock such as sheep. Indeed, the present invention will hereafter mainly be described in relation to this specific use, although in its broadest form it is not to be limited only to this specific use.

Background of the Invention

The difficulties and dangers inherent in the sheep shearing industry are well understood and well documented. Sheep shearing has traditionally been a task that requires heavy manual labour, with shearers having to physically handle sheep, having to move them by hand from livestock races or pens into a shearing shed and then having to restrain them, often using a combination of the shearer's legs, arms and torso, whilst shearing them by hand.

Apart from the skill required to shear an often aggressively (and usually unpredictably) struggling sheep, such a manual task requires great physical strength and durability on the part of the shearer. Injuries are common and the rate of shearing is necessarily reasonably low, with an experienced shearer possibly able to shear as many as 130 to 250 sheep in an 8 hour shift. With an increasing awareness of the Occupational Health & Safety issues surrounding any vocation that includes manual labour, and with an ever increasing need for wool from sheep, there has been a long-felt desire for shearing to be made easier and safer. In Australia alone, there are approximately 100,000,000 sheep requiring shearing each year.

As a result, there have been many efforts to develop automated or mechanised systems for shearing sheep, the majority of which have been either impractically complex or not useful. There have thus been few successful sheep shearing operations in the world that have been able to even partly automate the sheep handling process.

A particular problem lies in restraining the sheep, in a manner that is both humane and effective, but also that does not require the use of complex or expensive additional equipment. With this in mind, most sheep shearing operations are reasonably remote and do not lend themselves to the use of equipment that is technically sophisticated (and thus is at risk of having high maintenance levels), or that is sensitive to harsh environmental conditions. Also, equipment that has high energy requirements is impractical in most areas where sheep shearing operations are located.

Some attempts at developing suitable shearing equipment have been based on various forms of waist-high tables upon which sheep may be manipulated once they are restrained. In some forms, the tables have been fixed, requiring the sheep to be loaded and removed therefrom by lifting equipment, while in other forms the tables have been able to tilt.

Some tables have included mechanisms that permit automated movement of a sheep towards and away from a shearer, such as by using moving belts. In most of these forms, separate equipment has been provided in order to physically restrain the sheep, such as equipment that includes ties for securing the legs of the sheep, physical barriers for holding the sheep in position or against the table, or electrical equipment for applying an amount of electricity to the sheep to immobilise the sheep.

Other attempts at developing suitable shearing equipment have been based on the use of a modified livestock race, such as a race that has rigid walls that can be used to clamp a sheep therebetween to restrain the sheep in an upright position. However, while such modified races have proven useful for some animal husbandry tasks, such as for the administration of medicaments, because shearing requires access to the entire surface area of a sheep they have typically not proven to be useful for shearing tasks.

The present invention aims to provide both an apparatus and a method for restraining and positioning an animal, such as a sheep, ready for subsequent husbandry tasks, such as shearing, in a manner that minimizes the need to personally handle the animal and that provides relatively easy access to the entire surface area of the animal. It is a particular aim of the present invention for the apparatus and the method to avoid the need to electrically immobilise the animal.

Before turning to a summary of the present invention, it must be appreciated that the above description of the prior art has been provided merely as background to explain the context of the invention. It is not to be taken as an admission that any of the material referred to was published or known, or was a part of the common general knowledge in Australia or elsewhere.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention provides an apparatus for restraining and positioning an animal, the apparatus including a dynamic race having an entrance, an exit and a passage therebetween, the passage having an upwardly open work area, wherein the passage is formed by elastically flexible opposed walls able to be brought together to restrain an animal therebetween, the walls being capable of relative movement for rotation of the restrained animal about the animal's vertebral axis, thereby positioning the animal to expose a selected aspect of the animal to the work area.

Preferably, the dynamic race also includes an animal raising mechanism, such as a height adjustable floor or height adjustable supporting rollers, such that animals are able to enter the dynamic race at, for example, ground level and then be raised to a preferred work height for an operator, and be subsequently lowered to release the animal back at ground level.

The present invention also provides a method for restraining and positioning an animal located within a passage of a dynamic race, the passage defined by elastically flexible opposed walls and an upwardly open work area, the method including: a) bringing together the walls of the passage to restrain the animal therebetween; b) causing relative movement of the walls for rotation of the restrained animal about the animal's vertebral axis, thereby positioning the animal to expose a selected aspect of the animal to the work area; c) working on the selected aspect of the animal in the work area; d) repeating the rotation of the animal to work on a further selected aspect, if necessary; and e) moving the walls of the passage apart to release the animal, the animal then leaving the passage of the dynamic race.

In a preferred form, after bringing together the walls of the passage to restrain the animal, and before positioning the animal to expose a selected aspect the work area, the animal is raised to a preferred work height for an operator. This raising of the animal may occur in conjunction with, or slightly after, some rotation of the animal about the animal's vertebral axis. Such preliminary rotation generally assists in pacifying the animal (by moving the animal slightly away from its standing posture) prior to work commencing and also tends to move the animal's legs away from any moving components of the animal raising mechanism. Before further summarizing the present invention, it is useful to provide an explanation of some of the terms that will be used to define the spatial relationship of various parts thereof. In this respect, spatial references throughout this specification will generally be based upon an animal standing upright. With this environment as the basis, some parts may then be defined with reference to the "horizontal", allowing further references to "upper" or "upwardly" and "lower" or "downwardly", and also to the "vertical".

Also, some aspects of the present invention that may ultimately be claimed in isolation (and not in an in-use environment), may nonetheless be difficult to describe and understand in isolation. Thus, some of the following description does describe the invention and its embodiments in such an in-use environment

(for example, with a sheep within the apparatus for the purposes of shearing).

Of course, it must be appreciated that the use of such description, and the use of the abovementioned spatial relationships, to define the present invention, is not to be seen as a limitation and certainly is not to be seen as a limitation only to the in-use environment.

The race of the present invention is a dynamic race, as opposed to a static race, in that it is capable of applying one or more forces, possibly in more than one direction, to an animal within the passage. The walls of the passage of the dynamic race are preferably generally upright and are preferably sized such that an animal is able to stand upright between the walls and be fully encompassed by the walls. The walls thus would be sized according to the use of the apparatus.

The dynamic nature of the race is primarily implemented via the elastic flexibility of the walls, which allows the apparatus to form a "soft capture" of the animal, such as would be the case if the animal were caught and held (squeezed) between two sponges. In a preferred form, the walls elastically deform about the sides of the animal (albeit not completely about the animal) when they are initially brought together, the deformation about the animal being such as to almost completely restrain the animal against any further movement, without harming the animal. The animal can then be held upright in the dynamic race, with its back exposed to the open work area of the passage, such that the back of the animal is accessible from above the work area, allowing an operator to work on the back of the animal in the work area.

For the preferred use of the present invention, where the animal is a sheep and the husbandry task is shearing, the upwardly open work area thus becomes a shearing area, which is accessible by a shearer located adjacent one side of the race and looking down upon the race (and thus down upon the exposed back of the restrained sheep).

Once the animal is restrained in this way, with the opposed elastically flexible walls deformed about at least the sides of the animal and squeezing the animal therebetween, it is desired to be able to rotate the animal. As mentioned above, this rotation is ideally created by moving one wall relative to the other wall. In a preferred form, where the walls are generally upright and generally flat (such as they would be at rest when the apparatus is not in operation), this relative movement can be achieved by raising one wall generally vertically and at the same time lowering the other wall generally vertically. This acts to roll the restrained animal between the walls.

In relation to the rolling of the animal, it has been found that the animal's legs tend to fold into alignment with the body of the animal as the squeezed animal is rolled by the elastically flexible walls, with the legs thus moving towards and into a position that is akin to a normal sleeping/lying position for the animal. Thus, it has been found that use of the elastically flexible walls, moved relatively to provide the rotation, is able to avoid injury to the animal's legs.

It has also been found that, even when the animal's legs are partially clamped (such as might occur when height adjustable supporting rollers come together under the standing animal, for the purpose of then raising the animal), the animal's legs tend to slide out from between the rollers when the squeezed animal is rolled. The animal's legs then tend to self-locate back between the rollers after the squeezed animal has undergone a complete revolution. This allows for a reasonably simple animal raising mechanism to be adopted, such as the height adjustable support rollers mentioned above.

In a preferred form, the relative movement of the walls can be achieved by forming a wall from an endless belt configured to move about an upper and a lower roller. By forming both of the opposed walls in this manner, when the walls are together restraining an animal therebetween, movement of one belt relative to the other will generate the required rotation of the animal about its vertebral axis.

In one form, the opposed walls are formed by a single endless belt held by respective upper and lower rollers, one wall having a first upper roller and a first lower roller, and the other wall having a second upper roller and a second lower roller. In this form, the belt forms a generally U-shaped passage for the dynamic race, wherein the walls can be brought together by bringing together the first and second upper rollers, and possibly also bringing together the first and second lower rollers.

In another form, the opposed walls are formed by two endless belts, arranged so as to be opposed to each other to form the passage for the dynamic race therebetween. In this form, again each endless belt can be held by respective upper and lower rollers, such that the opposed walls can be brought together by bringing together the respective upper rollers, and possibly also bringing together the respective lower rollers.

By including, for example, a variable tensioning means within the path of the single endless belt (or a separate variable tensioning means within the path of each respective one of the two endless belts in the alternative form of the opposed walls), the walls will be elastically flexible and will be able to deform about an animal within the passage, when the walls are brought together, in the manner mentioned above. The use of an endless belt in the apparatus of the present invention brings about further advantages, one being the ability to easily introduce to the apparatus a table (such as conveying table) for receiving, for example, fleece shorn from a sheep. Indeed, in a preferred form, the apparatus of the present invention includes a table adjacent to the dynamic race. As mentioned above, an operator will likely be located adjacent one side (and thus one of the walls, which will hereafter be referred to as the "front wall") of the dynamic race, such that the table will be adjacent the other side (and thus the other wall, which will hereafter be referred to as the "back wall") of the dynamic race.

In one form, the table will be a conveying table provided by an endless belt configured generally horizontally about rollers, with one roller closely adjacent the upper roller of the back wall of the passage. Thus, when the relative movement of the walls of the passage is to move the back wall upwardly and the front wall downwardly (regardless of whether this is achieved by one or two endless belts), rotating the animal restrained in the passage towards the operator located adjacent the front wall, the operator is able to, for example, shear across the back side of the animal such that the animal's fleece is removed upwardly and over the upper roller of the back wall (away from the operator) onto the closely adjacent roller of the conveying table, to be conveyed away (upon the table) from the animal and the dynamic race.

In the most preferred form, where the opposed walls of the passage are formed by either a single endless belt or dual endless belts, the conveying table is also formed as a part of the path of either the single endless belt or the second of the two endless belts (that forming the back wall). In this form, the upper roller of the back wall doubles as a roller for the conveying table as the belt passes over that upper roller across a horizontal table portion towards a rear table roller. The belt then passes back down underneath the apparatus to return to the lower roller forming the lower portion of the back wall of the passage as will be explained further below. Thus, and as mentioned above, when the animal restrained in the passage is rotated towards the operator located adjacent the front wall, and the operator, for example, shears across the back side of the animal such that the animal's fleece is removed upwardly and over the upper roller of the back wall (away from the operator), the fleece is virtually automatically removed from the work area, conveyed away therefrom by the conveying table.

Returning to a general description of the dynamic race of the apparatus of the present invention, as mentioned above, the dynamic race preferably includes an animal raising mechanism such that animals are able to enter the dynamic race at ground level and then be raised to a preferred work height for an operator, and be subsequently lowered after completion of the husbandry task to release the animal back at ground level.

While it would be possible to instead lower the operator (such as by having the operator stand in a pit adjacent the front wall of the dynamic race), it is beneficial if the apparatus of the invention is able to be readily used in any area and in any surroundings, without having to have fixed features present that the apparatus must interact with (such as the abovementioned pit), and so the use of such an animal raising mechanism is advantageous.

The passage may thus be formed not only by the elastically flexible opposed walls, but also by an animal raising mechanism in the form of a height adjustable floor, the height adjustable floor being capable of raising (and then lowering) an animal restrained in the passage, whilst still permitting the relative movement of the opposed walls and thus the rotation of the animal about its vertebral axis.

In one form, this is achieved by providing an inner set of lower rollers as the lower rollers of the front wall and the back wall. In this form, which ideally will utilize a single endless belt to provide the opposed walls, by passing an endless belt about the outside of the two inner lower rollers, and forming a fixed-width, generally level surface therebetween wide enough for an animal to stand upon, the raising of the inner lower rollers acts to raise the surface and thus raise the animal.

Additionally, by further providing an outer set of lower rollers, located outside the single endless belt but slightly above the inner lower rollers, with the outer lower rollers configured such that they can be urged together, it becomes possible to urge together almost the full vertical extent of the opposed walls irrespective of the existence of the fixed-width surface that forms the height adjustable floor, to thereby restrain an animal standing in the passage (upon the height adjustable floor) in the manner mentioned above.

In another form, the height adjustable floor may be further modified so as to further assist with the rotation of the restrained animal, ideally such that the floor is also collapsible as the animal is raised, irrespective of whether the opposed walls are formed by a single endless belt or dual endless belts.

In this form, the floor preferably includes a sub-assembly of floor rollers, the sub-assembly including an inner series of floor rollers surrounded by a minor continuous belt upon which the animal may stand when in the passage, the inner series of the floor rollers being mounted so as to be collapsible within the minor continuous belt. The sub-assembly preferably also includes opposed outer floor rollers, one on each side of the inner series of floor rollers, each outer floor roller able to engage the elastically flexible opposed walls of the apparatus for rotation thereby to thereby cause rotation of the minor continuous belt. Preferably, the sub-assembly of floor rollers is mounted so as to be raisable within the passage between the elastically flexible opposed walls of the apparatus.

In yet another form, the animal raising mechanism need not be a height adjustable floor, but instead is provided by height adjustable supporting rollers. Preferably, the height adjustable supporting rollers may be provided as an outer set of lower rollers, located outside the belts of the opposed walls but slightly above the inner lower rollers, with the outer lower rollers configured such that they can be urged together and mounted on support arms adapted to raise both of the outer lower rollers.

In this form, when an animal is standing in the dynamic race, the outer lower rollers can be urged together under the standing animal to partially clamp the animal's legs therebetween, at the same time urging together almost the full vertical extent of the opposed walls to squeeze (and thereby restrain) the animal therebetween.

Whilst clamped, the support arms can be raised to raise the animal to a preferred work height for an operator. As mentioned above, the animal can then be rotated about its vertical axis, with the animal's legs tending to slide out from between the fixed gap between the outer lower rollers, and back in between those rollers after a complete revolution.

The use of an animal raising mechanism (of the type of any of the forms described above) is beneficial in that it permits walk-in, lift-up operation of the dynamic race. Thus, the operator is not required to either physically force the animal into the race (perhaps over or through an obstacle of some sort), nor to lift the animal to raise it to a useful work height (which tends to be about waist height). Of course, by then having the animal at a useful work height, there is then no need for the operator to work on the animal with a bent back, which provides significant health benefits for the operator.

Indeed, once the animal, such as a sheep, has entered the dynamic race of the present invention, and is within the passage thereof, the opposed walls may be brought together to restrain the sheep therebetween, in the "soft capture" manner described above. The animal raising mechanism may then be operated to raise the sheep to a useful work height, and the sheep may be rotated by the operator (located closely adjacent the front wall of the passage) to expose a selected aspect of the sheep to the work area. The operator can work on that selected aspect, such as the sheep's belly, to shear the sheep, with the fleece removed moving up and onto the conveying table to be moved away from the operator (and the sheep) as the sheep is further rotated by the operator to expose further selected aspects to the work area for further shearing. Once the sheep has undergone a complete rotation, and has been completely shorn (with the fleece now laid out entirely upon the conveying table), the operator can operate the animal raising mechanism to lower the sheep, and then release the walls to allow the sheep to walk out of the dynamic race.

Preferably, all of these operations will be able to be controlled by the operator when standing in the work position adjacent the front wall of the dynamic race, by any combination of hand, arm, leg and/or foot controls, noting that the operator will need at least one hand (and preferably two hands) free to shear. Ideally, all of the controls will allow for small increments of movement, in terms of the relative movement of the opposed walls, the rotation of the sheep, the bringing together of the opposed walls, and the raising and lowering of the sheep, to allow for many degrees of adjustment as would be required for animals having a variety shapes and sizes, and also to deal with animals that will no doubt still struggle even when restrained. In one form, there will be a foot control for the rotation of the sheep, a hip bar for the movement of the opposed walls together and apart, and an initial hand control for the raising of the sheep. This then leaves both hands free for shearing during the work phases of the operation where the sheep is raised to the work height.

One further addition to the apparatus of the present invention which is envisaged to be particularly useful is the use of a second race, such as a more conventional static race, located closely adjacent to the dynamic race. This dual-race system is advantageous in assisting with the natural loading of the dynamic race, in that it promotes the voluntary entry to the dynamic race by the animal.

With particular regard to sheep, they are an animal that will invariably follow the movements of another sheep in their line of sight. Therefore, by having two lines of sheep approaching the apparatus of the present invention, with one line moving into the dynamic race (where there are visual and physical obstacles) and another line moving through the static race (where there are no such visual or physical obstacles), it is possible to lure one sheep into the dynamic race by moving slightly ahead of it another sheep that is moving freely through the static race. It is thus envisaged that a suitable gating system configured near the apparatus of the present invention, controlled by the operator as necessary, may permit the operator to open a gate to allow one sheep to move through the static race, whilst after a slight delay opening another gate to allow another sheep (spurred on by the movement of the first) to rush forward into the dynamic race.

In a preferred form, where the apparatus of the present invention includes the conveying table mentioned above located closely adjacent the back wall of the passage of the dynamic race, it is preferred to locate such a static race within and through the apparatus immediately below the conveying table (and thus also adjacent the back wall). This can be achieved simply by having a suitably walled-in area open through the apparatus.

In this form, it will be appreciated that it then becomes possible to have a large number of the inventive apparatus arranged in series, such that sheep exiting from the static race of one apparatus can become the feed line for sheep entering the dynamic race of the next apparatus, with a fresh line of sheep feeding into its static race. It can thus be possible to create a sheep handling process that maximizes the voluntary movement of sheep into the dynamic races to minimize the manual labour required to do so.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Having briefly described the general concepts involved with the present invention, a preferred embodiment of an apparatus for restraining and positioning an animal, and in particular for restraining and positioning a sheep for shearing purposes, will now be described that is in accordance with the present invention. However, it is to be understood that the following description is not to limit the generality of the above description. In the drawings, Figures 1 to 12 are side schematic views of an apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, showing sequentially the operation of the apparatus. Figure 1 a is a side schematic view of an apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention, showing only one step in its sequential operation.

Description of the Drawings

The sequential operational views in Figures 1 to 12 of an embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention, and the alternative apparatus shown in Figure 1 a, have been provided in order to illustrate only some aspects of the apparatus. The following explanation of those aspects will assist with a general understanding of the invention.

Figures 1 to 12 are the same side view of the same apparatus (albeit in different operational stages), being an apparatus 10 for restraining and positioning an animal. The animal is shown herein as a sheep 12 and the sheep 12 is located in the apparatus 10 in order to be shorn. Not all reference numerals for all aspects of the apparatus 10 are included in all of the Figures.

The sheep 12 is shown in Figure 1 having entered the passage 13 of a dynamic race 14, as opposed to the static race 16 shown adjacent to the dynamic race 14, which will be explained below. The dynamic race 14 has an entrance and an exit in the sense that the sheep 12 is able to walk unaided into the passage 13 and then, later, exit unaided from the passage 13. In this respect, by "unaided" is meant that the operator (the shearer 18) is not required to physically lift the sheep 12 into the passage 13, but rather is able to cause or allow the sheep 12 to voluntarily enter the passage 13.

The passage 13 has an upwardly open work area (generally indicated by the reference numeral 20), and the passage 13 is formed by elastically flexible opposed walls (22a, 22b) able to be brought together to restrain the sheep 12 therebetween (as will be illustrated in subsequent Figures). The opposed walls (22a, 22b) are capable of relative movement for rotation of the restrained sheep 12 about the sheep's vertebral axis, this movement being possible in the second embodiment of Figure 1 a by virtue of the use of a single endless belt 24, as opposed to the use of dual endless belts 24a, 24b, which are used in the first embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 to 12, the complete configuration of which will be described below. The rotation of the sheep 12 about its vertebral axis thereby positions the sheep 12 to expose a selected aspect of the sheep to the work area 20.

The passage 13 also includes a floor 26 that in one form (although not in the first embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 to 12) might be capable of raising (and then lowering) the sheep 12, whilst still permitting the relative movement of the opposed walls (22a, 22b) and thus the rotation of the sheep 12 about its vertebral axis. In the second embodiment of Figure 1 a, the floor 27 includes an inner set of lower rollers (F, G) as the lower rollers of the front wall 22a and the back wall 22b respectively. The single endless belt 24 passes about the outside of the two inner lower rollers (F, G), and a fixed-width, generally level surface 28 is formed therebetween, wide enough for the sheep 12 to stand upon.

Returning to a description of the first embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 to 12, an additional set of lower rollers, namely two outer lower rollers (D, E), are also provided but are located outside the belts 24a,24b, with the outer lower rollers (D, E) configured such that they can be urged together. It then becomes possible to urge together almost the full vertical extent of the opposed walls (22a, 22b). These two outer lower rollers (D, E) form part of a preferred form of animal raising mechanism, referred to above as height adjustable supporting rollers, as seen more clearly in Figures 5 to 1 1.

The dynamic nature of the dynamic race 14 is primarily implemented via the elastic flexibility of the walls (22a, 22b), which allows the apparatus 10 to form a "soft capture" of the sheep 12, such as would be the case if the sheep 12 were caught and held (squeezed) between two sponges. As shown in Figure 2, the walls (22a, 22b) elastically deform about the sides of the sheep 12 (albeit not completely about the sheep 12) when they are initially brought together, which can be effected by bringing roller A towards roller B and by bringing rollers D and E together. The subsequent deformation of respective portions xyz of the opposed walls (22a, 22b) about the sheep 12 is such as to almost completely restrain the sheep against any further movement, without harming the sheep, and to slightly raise the sheep 12 above the floor 26. At this stage, the sheep 12 is held upright in the dynamic race 14, with its back exposed to the open work area 20 of the passage 13, such that the back of the sheep is accessible from above the work area, allowing the shearer 18 to work on the back of the sheep in the work area 20 if required. Having said that, the sheep 12 is, though, still set reasonably deeply in the passage 13, which may not be useful for husbandry tasks that might be required for an animal.

For example, it might be required to administer medicaments to the sheep in the position illustrated in Figure 2, and thus the apparatus 10 may simply be used for this purpose, with the sheep 12 left in the reasonably deep position shown in Figure 2. However, it is envisaged that the apparatus 10 will find most use for the shearing of the sheep 12, and thus its further operation must be explained as, in a shearing operation, it is not likely that the sheep 12 would remain in the position shown in Figure 2 for very long. Indeed, this would only be a transitory location.

Before turning to Figure 3, and an explanation of the rotation of the sheep 12 about its vertebral axis, it should be noted that the rollers D and E in Figure 2 (and in Figure 3) can be brought together to partially clamp the sheep's legs and to provide support under the body of the sheep 12. Indeed, the gap shown in Figures 2 and 3 between rollers D and E is probably too wide for clamping and would normally be smaller (as evident in Figure 9).

Once the sheep 12 is restrained as shown in Figure 2, with the opposed elastically flexible walls (22a, 22b) deformed about at least the sides of the sheep 12 (squeezing the sheep 12 therebetween), and when the apparatus 10 is being used so that an operator can shear the sheep 12, it is desired to be able to rotate the sheep 12 to expose different selected aspects of the surface of the restrained sheep 12 to the work area 20 for the operator to be able to shear.

With reference to Figure 3, this rotation is created by moving one wall 22a relative to the other wall 22b. In the general description above, this relative movement was described with respect to the opposed walls being generally upright and generally flat (such as they would be at rest when the apparatus is not in operation), which is the situation generally evident with respect to the walls 22a and 22b in Figure 3. In Figure 3, the relative movement is achieved by raising one wall 22b generally vertically (namely, generally towards the top of the drawing page) and at the same time lowering the other wall 22a generally vertically (namely, generally towards the bottom of the drawing page), such that a point on the belt 24a moves in the direction of arrow 29 and a point on the belt 24b moves in the direction of arrow 33. This acts to roll the restrained sheep 12 counter-clockwise in the direction of arrow 35 (towards the shearer 18) between the walls (22a, 22b).

The ability to move the walls (22a, 22b) in this manner is achieved in the first embodiment by forming the walls (22a, 22b) by the use of the dual endless belts 24a,24b held by various upper and lower rollers. The wall 22a is provided by a first upper roller A and a first lower (motorized) roller M ₂ , with the other wall 22b provided by a second upper roller B and a second lower roller I ₂ . In this form, the belt 24a,24b form a generally U-shaped passage 13 with the floor 26 for the dynamic race 14, wherein the walls (22a, 22b) can be brought together by bringing together the first and second upper rollers (A, B), due to the first wall 22a being generally hinged about the lower roller M ₂ for pivotal movement thereabout.

By including respective variable tensioning devices with each of the dual endless belts 24a,24b, ideally in the form of respective resiliently biased tensioning rollers T ₁ and T ₂ , the walls (22a, 22b) are made elastically flexible and are able to deform about the sheep 12 within the passage 13, when the walls (22a, 22b) are brought together, in the manner mentioned above.

The ability to move the walls (22a, 22b) is achieved in the second embodiment of Figure 1 a by forming the walls (22a, 22b) by a single endless belt 24, again held by various upper and lower rollers, with the wall 22a having a first upper roller A and a first lower roller F, and the other wall 22b having a second upper roller B and a second lower roller G. In this form, the belt 24 forms a generally

U-shaped passage 13 for the dynamic race 14, wherein the walls (22a, 22b) can be brought together by bringing together the first and second upper rollers

(A, B), due to the first wall 22a being generally hinged about the additional roller

C for pivotal movement thereabout.

By including a variable tensioning means in the form of a resiliently biased tensioning roller T within the path of the single endless belt 24, the walls (22a, 22b) are both made elastically flexible and are able to deform about the sheep 12 within the passage 13, when the walls (22a, 22b) are brought together, in the manner mentioned above.

The use of such a single endless belt 24 in the apparatus 10 of Figure 1 a allows operation of a conveying table 30, comprising a main frame 31 supporting a broad area 32 of the belt 24 adjacent the dynamic race 14. The conveying table 30 is able to receive fleece shorn from the sheep 12. The conveying table 30 of Figure 1 a is configured generally horizontally about rollers B and M, with the roller B doubling as a roller for the conveying table and for the wall 22b, as the belt passes over that upper roller B across the horizontal table portion 32 towards the rear table roller M. In this form, it is the rear table roller M that is the driven roller in the apparatus 10. The belt 24 then passes back down underneath the apparatus 10 to the lower rollers I and C.

The equivalent configuration of a conveying table for the first embodiment of Figures 1 to 12 shows a conveying table 30a, also based around a main frame 31 a supporting a broad area 32a of the belt 24b adjacent the dynamic race 14. The conveying table 30a (shown in Figure 3) is configured generally horizontally about rollers B and M ₁ (a motorized roller), with the belt 24b passing back down underneath the apparatus 10 to the lower rollers I ₁ and I ₂ .

Thus, when the sheep 12 restrained in the passage 13 is rotated towards the shearer 18 located adjacent the front wall 22a, and the shearer 18 shears across the back side of the sheep 12 such that the sheep's fleece is removed upwardly and over the upper roller B of the back wall 22b (away from the shearer 18), the fleece is virtually automatically removed from the work area 20, conveyed away therefrom by the conveying table 30a (or 30 in Figure 1 a).

Turning to a brief discussion of the remaining Figures 4 to 12, once the sheep 12 has entered the dynamic race 14 and is within the passage 13 thereof, the opposed walls (22a, 22b) are brought together to restrain the sheep 12 therebetween in the "soft capture" manner described above, and the sheep 12 can be rotated around its vertebral axis to be upside down as shown in Figure 4. This position is the ideal position for a shearer 18 to commence shearing, as per the normal hand shearing techniques that are used when not utilizing an apparatus such as that of the present invention.

However, given the height disparity between the working height of the shearer 18 (which in this embodiment is at about waist height, given that the shearer 18 and the apparatus 10 are both positioned at ground level), it is preferred to raise the height of the sheep 12 before commencing shearing. The height adjustable supporting rollers D and E are thus raised (see Figure 5) to raise the sheep 12 to a useful work height, via a hydraulically actuated lever 40 hinged about point 42 to support arms HL. Thus, the sheep 12 is raised through the position shown in Figure 5 to the position shown in Figure 6. At the same time, to remove any slack in the belts 24a,24b caused by the raising, and thus in order to maintain the sheep 12 suitably restrained between the opposed walls (22a, 22b), the tensioning rollers T ₁ and T ₂ begin a controlled excursion within the apparatus 10 to maintain the belt tension. In terms of the movement of the sheep 12 through the various positions shown in Figures 1 to 6, it should be appreciated that many of the movements described may occur at the same time, or in a smooth transition from one position to the next, or may occur in a sequence that is slightly different to that described. Some of this will be dependent upon the skill of the shearer 18, the nature of the controls provided with the apparatus 10, and also the size and circumstances of the sheep 12.

Figure 7 then illustrates a final adjustment of the restraint of the sheep 12 to an ideal position for shearing, maximizing the exposure of the entire underside aspect (the belly) of the sheep 12 to the shearer 18. The shearer 18 is then able to commence shearing of the belly in the normal manner, starting at the closest extent (to the shearer 18) of the sheep 12 and working towards the furthermost extent of the sheep 12. As this fleece is removed, the shearer 18 is able to throw the shorn fleece onto the conveying table 30a.

In this respect, it has been found that by restraining a sheep (at least at this starting position) along a line that is approximately adjacent to its torso (shown approximately in Figure 7), the relatively muscle-free and elongated distal leg bones of the sheep 12 are relatively powerless to struggle and tend to easily follow the heavily muscled proximal leg parts into the rollers when rotated, hence helping avoid injury to the sheep 12 during rotation.

Once the belly of the sheep 12 is completely shorn, the sheep 12 may be further rotated by the shearer 18 (as is seen commencing in Figure 8) to expose a further selected aspect of the sheep 12 to the work area 20. As mentioned above, during this rotation, the sheep's legs tend to fold into close alignment with the sheep's torso, almost forming a cylindrical body mass that becomes reasonably easy to rotate.

The shearer 18 can then continue to work on that selected aspect to shear the sheep 12, with the fleece 41 removed continuing to move up and onto the conveying table 30 to be moved away from the shearer 18 (and the sheep 12) as the sheep 12 is further rotated by the shearer 18 to expose further selected aspects to the work area 20 for further shearing. Figures 9 and 10 show two further positions of the sheep 12 during its rotation.

Once the sheep 12 has undergone a complete rotation (back to the orientation shown in Figure 1 1 ), and has been completely shorn (with the fleece 41 now laid out entirely upon the conveying table 30), the sheep's legs will have returned to be within the gap between rollers D and E and partially clamped thereby (assisting to further restrain movement of the sheep) and the shearer 18 can lower the height adjustable support rollers D and E and release the opposed walls (22a, 22b) to return the sheep 12 to the position shown in Figure 12 and allow the sheep 12 to walk out of the dynamic race 14.

Returning now to a description of Figure 1 and the second sheep 12a shown in the static race 16, the presence of this second race 16 is envisaged to be particularly useful in assisting with the natural loading of the dynamic race 14, in that it promotes the voluntary entry to the dynamic race 14 by the sheep 12.

Indeed, by having two lines of sheep (12, 12a) approaching the apparatus 10, with one line moving into the dynamic race 14 and another line moving through the static race 16, it is possible to lure one sheep 12 into the dynamic race 14 by moving slightly ahead of it the other sheep 12a that is moving freely into and through the static race 16.

As mentioned above, all of these operations are controlled by the shearer 18 when standing in the work position adjacent the front wall 22a of the dynamic race 14 (as shown in Figure 1 ), by a combination of hand, arm, leg and foot controls, noting that the shearer 18 will need at least one hand free to shear. These controls allow for small increments of movement, in terms of the relative movement of the opposed walls (22a, 22b), the rotation of the sheep 12, the bringing together of the opposed walls (22a, 22b), and the raising and lowering of the rollers D and E, to allow for many degrees of adjustment as would be required for sheep 12 having a variety of shapes and sizes, and also to deal with sheep 12 still struggle even when restrained. A skilled addressee will also appreciate the range of hydraulic actuators and rams, resiliently biased mechanisms, lever mechanisms, and conveyor roller devices suitable for use with the apparatus to provide the range of movements and operations described generally and in detail above.

In conclusion, it must be appreciated that there may be other variations and modifications to the configurations described herein which are also within the scope of the present invention.