There was a Queen's university researcher who specialised in exploring modern myths and fables. One year, in the course of her research she was expected to investigate the real prevalence of sheep shagging. Now of course, we all know that supposedly rural farmers are all starved of sex and so have to indulge in the occasional animal liason, but just how prevalent was this trend?
Our intrepid researcher set off to find out. As she went along to the first farm, she was understandably a little embarased about what she was going to have to ask the farmer there. She met him and started to chat to him about the weather, crops and suchlike. Eventually, she got her nerve together and asked: "Pardon me asking, but....have you ever shagged your sheep?"
"Aye. I have." Was the dreaded answer.
"Err..., so how do you go about it exactly?"
"Well, it be easy really. Front legs over a gate, hold the hind legs and you're away really."
The researcher quickly made her excuses and left. She felt sure this was an isolated incident. But as she travelled around the sheep farms of the Ireland, she repeatedly got the answer: "Front legs over a gate, hold the hind legs and you're away."
As she was reaching the end of her study, a shocking 62% of farmers had given this answer. It was obviously a much more prevalent custom than she had previously realised. At one of the last Tyrone farms she visited, she asked the dreaded question after the usual smalltalk.
"Pardon me asking, but....have you ever shagged your sheep?"
"Aye. I have." Was the usual answer.
"So how do you go about it exactly?" (She was more confident of asking by now).
"Well, it be easy really. Front legs over your shoulders, hold the hind legs and you're away."
"Hang on a minute, all the other farmers I have spoken to have said front legs over a gate!"
"What! No kissing?"