NEW South Wales farmer Ken Turner didn’t know you could offend sheep with rude words.

That was until the RSPCA came knocking on the door of his Boorungie Station, about 130km from ­Broken Hill, acting on a tip-off.

He was told People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) had lodged a complaint with the RSPCA that a farm worker swore at sheep during shearing sessions.

The group presented footage of the “verbal abuse”, believed to have been recorded by an undercover operative working at the same station.

Apparently the rude word words were distressing the flock.

“None of them actually told me they were offended,” a bemused Mr Turner said on radio.

“I still haven’t had a sheep come to me (to complain) – they didn’t even look offended to me after they were shorn.

“They just walked down to the paddock, grazed intently, and I didn’t notice any distress attached to them.” Mr Turner hasn’t seen the footage alleging he sanctioned such behaviour, so he doesn’t know what kind of rude words were apparently used.

But he took a guess: “From time to time everybody lets out a golly gosh occasionally,” he said.

RSPCA NSW chief executive Steve Coleman said the case was “rare” and was treated seriously by officers but eventually dismissed.

“If there is an allegation that puts at risk an animal that would cause it unnecessary suffering and distress, we would investigate it,” he said.

“I don’t know if it matters what language is used.

“An animal is not going to understand it.”

Mr Coleman told ABC radio the video would not have been usable in a legal case and the matter was formally dropped.

“We felt the footage was inadmissable and therefore we relied on what oral evidence came from both parties,” he said. “It was conflicting and on that basis we were unable to continue. The evidence that was available basically came down to one person’s word against another.”

Mr Turner says he’s annoyed the complaint took resources away from the RSPCA.

“I thought, is this a joke? Is this April fools?

“It’s just sad because there possibly are legitimate cases that should be investigated.”\

PETA has been running an anti-wool campaign and last month angered Queensland’s farming community with fake images posted online of a bloodied lamb, supposedly hurt during shearing and the slogan: “Here’s the rest of your wool coat.”

The group created controversy in Britain this week, calling for the name of the country’s oldest pub to be changed. PETA claimed that “Ye Olde Fighting Cocks” is ­offensive to chickens and should be changed to “Ye Olde Clever Cock” to celebrate them as ­intelligent, sensitive and social creatures.

– additional reporting AAP

media_camera “They just walked down to the paddock, grazed intently, and I didn’t notice any distress ...” NSW Picture: Andy Rogers

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ANIMAL ACTIVISTS TARGET NFF BUILDING

ANIMAL activists are being blamed for vandalising the headquarters of Australia’s peak farm lobby group with the words “ban live exports”.

Officials from the National Farmers Federation discovered the spray-painted sign on the Canberra building, saying more graffiti and foul language were also scribbled on front and rear entrance doors.

“Wilful vandalism of property and use of threatening language is not constructive and it is against the law,” president Brent Finlay said in a statement.

— AAP