AU2004202451B2 - Fleece Retention Net - Google Patents

Description

P13113AU01

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for Service: Invention Title: Divisional Application Details: NEVILLE JAMES BLAKE NEVILLE JAMES BLAKE HODGKINSON AND McINNES Patent Trade Mark Attorneys Level 3, 20 Alfred Street MILSONS POINT NSW 2061 "FLEECE RETENTION NET" Standard Patent Application No.

200110007 dated 4 January 2001 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to a net or garment for use as an aid in harvesting fleece from a fleece-bearing animal which either shed their fleece naturally, or which may be treated with a biological "defleecing" agent or substance to induce defleecing. Such animals can include sheep, alpaccas, goats and the like.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION As used herein, the term "wool" applies to the wool of a sheep or to the wool or hair of a fleece-bearing animal which is susceptible to biological "defleecing" or dehairing by the use of Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) and like biological "defleecing" agents or substances. Historically, wool has been removed from sheep and other long-haired animals by manual shearing, using a cutter which is run over the body of the animal.

This method is very labour intensive, time-consuming and can be stressful for the animal.

It is known to biologically "shear" sheep using a biological depilatory "defleecing" agent, such as EGF, which causes a weakening or break in the wool fibre or staple at or near the skin surface, enabling the fleece to be easily removed. Such artificially induced fleece shedding is based on the natural fleece shedding which occurs in the Wiltshire Horn breed of sheep. In the artificially induced process, the natural shedding characteristic of the Wiltshire Horn is mimicked through a vaccination with a naturally occurring protein, which temporarily elevates the sheeps natural level of this protein, effectively allowing modern day sheep to shed their fleece.

The sheep handling techniques used with biological defleecing have proven to be less stressful on both animal and operator than conventional shearing. Recovery after wool harvesting is immediate and wool growth continues without setbacks to sheep health.

Other characteristics of biological wool harvesting include the reduction in locks, the elimination of skin pieces and an increase in the average fibre length.

Biological wool harvesting also provides an opportunity for woolgrowers to differentiate their wool clip and produce individual wool products to satisfy specific market requirements. For example, the length of short wools such as lamb and prematurely-shorn wool can be maximised by using biological harvesting. Short wools that would normally endure a loss to the length and value of wool due to small second cuts from conventional wool harvesting can be avoided since biological harvesting enables shorter wool lengths to be harvested evenly and without second cuts.

Sheep which have been biologically defleeced display exceptional hide characteristics due to the absence of skin cuts and scars that would be present from conventional harvesting. The undamaged biologically shorn hide may be offered to the hide market as a quality-enhanced premium product. Biological harvesting also allows the slaughter of mutton and lamb with the skin left on, providing new local and export marketing opportunities for meat products and hygienic slaughter.

However, although biological wool harvesting overcomes a number of disadvantages of mechanical shearing, it raises problems of its own. The biological depilatory agents cause the wool to fall from the skin over a period of time, which may extend for several days or weeks. The result of this is that the wool fleece is removed in patches and over a period of time, and it is thus strewn over a wide area if the animals are left to graze. Collecting the wool is difficult and the wool may be damaged when strewn around the grazing area. Confining the animals until the wool drops off is impractical.

It is known to provide a cover, jacket or net to be worn by the animal which assists in the retention of the fleece in close proximity to the body of the animal, so that the fleece may be removed in a single operation once all the wool staple has been broken.

Such coats have not been successful due to a number of problems.

Examples of prior art fleece retaining nets are to be found in U.S. Patent 5,447,124; Australian Patent Nos. 655997 and 647084; and Australian Patent Application Nos.

60853/73, 86230/75, 40926/96, 87928/98 and 87929/98.

Some nets or covers have been expensive to produce either because of the design or the materials and accessories used. Some nets have not been adaptable to variation in sheep size and require a range of different size nets. Some prior art nets are difficult to fit manually and require too much time in labour costs to be economical. Some prior art nets require specialised machinery for fitment of a net to each animal and are generally inconvenient and uneconomical for efficient usage. Further, if the net is fitted too tight to the animal, wool quality can be compromised. Such problems or disadvantages applicable to prior art fleece retaining nets have been significant factors in delaying or preventing the widespread introduction and use of biological wool harvesting.

While there is a practical requirement to provide fleece retaining nets at an economically acceptable and viable cost, there is also a requirement for a uniform design which permits or facilitates the donning and doffing of the retaining net, as well as the ability to re-use the retaining net one or several times.

Fitting of the fleece retention net is known as "donning". Prior art techniques for donning include manual fitting, but in the main use specially designed sheep handling equipment, such as that described in Australian Patent No. 647084 in the name of Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). To enhance the wool clip quality and ensure correct net fitting, sheep are first prepared by wigging, crutching, shank removal and removal of any additional stained wool.

During donning, the sheep are vaccinated with a measured dose of a suitable biological defleecing agent (such as EGF) in the inguinal region bare skin inside the back leg) and then machine fitted with the fleece retention net fastened along the backline.

The sheep are then released into the paddock until doffing.

Harvesting or doffing of the fleece usually occurs around day 14 after donning and vaccination, and typically takes place in a wool shed using a portable V-belt machine.

However, any on-farm facilities that provide a clean wool handling area are also suitable.

Sheep are brought up onto the V-belt machine where the nets are unfastened along the backline. The fleece is rolled off the sheep and whilst still intact within the retention net is placed on to a modified skirting table. The fleece is skirted and classed according to wool clip preparation guidelines. As protection against extreme climatic conditions, a protective coat may be fitted to the sheep after doffing, if required, until some wool re-growth has occurred sufficient to protect the animal.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a fleece retention net for fleece bearing animals which goes at least some way towards overcoming or at least minimising the prior art problems or limitations outlined above, or for providing a clear alternative choice to woolgrowers.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved fleece retention net adapted to fit animals of various size without restricting animal movement, suitable for use with both animals which shed their fleece naturally, and with animals which are artificially induced to shed their fleece.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved fleece retention net which is of simplified design and economical to produce for use in fleece harvesting, and for re-use several times, and which can be readily manufactured in large commercial quantities.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide an improved fleece retention net which is suitable for either manual or machine-assisted donning, but does not ultimately require the use of mechanical fitting or special machinery (other than a Vbelt/sheep handling machine).

It is yet a further object of this invention to provide an improved fleece retention net which is suitable to retain wool on the sheep for 2 3 weeks or more after wool release.

It is yet another object again of this invention to provide an improved fleece retention net which includes improved securing means to quickly and conveniently secure and to release the fitted fleece retention net.

It is yet a further object again of this invention to provide an improved fleece retention net which includes an improved tail-guard which does not injure the sheep or become entangled in the net.

These and other objects of this invention will become more apparent from the following descriptions and the drawings.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a re-usable fleece retaining net for fitting to a fleece bearing animal, including a substantially rectangular coat body of net or mesh fabric for enclosing at least a substantial portion of the fleece of the animal when fitted to the body of the animal, wherein said net or mesh fabric encloses or encircles the animal in an overlapping manner and is retained in the overlapped configuration by a plurality of spaced-apart spring retaining clip means attached to the outer perimeter of the coat body by elastic means and adapted to be attached to the opposite side of the net as required, again by elasticised means. The coat body preferably has holes for receiving the front legs of an animal, a collar portion centrally adjacent one end adapted for fitment around the neck of the animal, and an elongated slit located centrally in the opposite end of the garment and extending inwardly from the periphery or perimeter of said opposite end to a point inwardly of said opposite end about one-third the distance between said one end and said opposite end. The innermost end of the elongated slit is adapted to surround and form a tail opening for the animal, through which the tail and faeces of the animal can pass. Stiffening means, such as a preformed wire frame of the type described below, is preferably provided adjacent the tail opening for holding the shape of the tail opening and its position in relation to the tail and anus of an animal during use of the fleece retention net. The preformed wire frame, referred to as a tail-guard, is contained in the selvedge surrounding the tail opening and is designed such that the wire frame will not penetrate through the selvedge, harming the sheep and damaging the net.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention will be further described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:- FIG. 1 FIG. 2 FIG. 3 FIG. 4 FIG. 5 FIG. 6 FIG. 7 FIG. 8 FIG. 9 FIG. 10 is a plan view of a fleece retention net according to one embodiment of the invention; is an enlarged plan view of net mesh detail at the area designated at in Fig. 1, shown in the relaxed state; illustrates the net mesh configuration for the body region of the net; illustrates the net mesh configuration for the front leg portions of the net; is a front perspective view of the retention net in use; is a rear perspective view of the retention net in use; is a perspective view of a preferred net retaining clip in the closed position; is a perspective view of the retaining clip of Fig. 7 in the open position; is a rear view of a preferred tail guard spring for use with the retention net of Figs. 1 to 6; and is a left side view of the tail guard spring of Fig. 9 BEST MODE OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a fleece retaining net for fitting to a fleece bearing animal Figs. 5 and 6) including a substantially rectangular coat body of net or mesh fabric for enclosing at least a substantial portion of the fleece of the animal when fitted to the body of the animal, wherein said net or mesh fabric encloses or encircles the animal in an overlapping manner (as at 4 in Figs. 5 and 6) and is retained in the overlapped configuration by a plurality of spacedapart spring retaining clip means attached to the outer perimeter of the coat body by elastic means and adapted to be attached to the opposite side of the net as required, again by elasticised means. The coat body preferably has holes for receiving the front legs of an animal, a collar portion centrally adjacent one end adapted for fitment around the neck of the animal, and an elongated slit located centrally in the opposite end of the garment and extending inwardly from the periphery or perimeter of said opposite end to a point (10) inwardly of said opposite end about one-third the distance between said one end and said opposite end. The innermost end (10) of the elongated slit is adapted to surround and form a tail opening for the animal, through which the tail and faeces of the animal can pass. Stiffening means, such as a preformed wire frame (11) of the type described below, is preferably provided adjacent the tail opening for holding the shape of the tail opening and its position in relation to the tail and anus of an animal during use of the fleece retention net. The preformed wire frame referred to as a tail guard (Figs. 9 and 10) is contained in the selvedge (12) surrounding the tail opening and is designed such that the wire frame will not penetrate through the selvedge, harming the sheep and damaging the net.

Preferably, the coat body is formed from a single piece of inherently elastic Nylon netting (17mm squares see Figs. 2-4) similar to that already used in fleece retention nets used by others, such as by Bioclip Pty Limited of Sydney, Australia. However, preferably the direction of the netting has been changed, rotated through 900 (see Figs.

3 and 4) compared to the orientation of the netting used by Bioclip. Preferably, the mesh fabric has apertures up to 25mm, but most preferably 17mm. Whilst larger squares 30mm) reduce the cost of the netting, there is a tendency for the wool to become entwined and held by the larger squares, slowing the rate at which it could be rolled from the net after harvesting/doffing. In one preferred embodiment, the mesh apertures have an across dimension of between about 10 and 25mm. By not applying a fixed length backline selvedge on the net, allows maximum utilisation of the natural concertina effect on the netting material, thus enabling the net to fit a greater range of sheep sizes.

The design of the net is such that parts of the rear or hind legs (13) are enclosed by the inherently elastic fitted net (Figs. 5 and allowing the inclusion of wool below the knee of the sheep, avoiding the present practice of shearing the leg for predonning, or leaving the wool to fall off in the paddock. The probability that shearing creates cut legs and skin pieces in the wool, and even accidental hocking of the hind legs, are problems of the prior art that are overcome by the present invention.

The coat further includes leggings or "socks" (14) for surrounding the front leg holes and extending externally therefrom. The leggings are preferably formed of mesh material, most preferably the same as that used for the coat body portion, but ideally rotated through 900 relative to the configuration used in the body portion (see Figs. 3 and thus helping to prevent the leg from extending over the hoof. Preferably, each legging has a retaining band (15) at the lower edge to fit neatly about the lower part of the animal's leg.

Preferably, the coat body has one or more edges reinforced against wear and tear, such as in the neck and tail (12) regions and at the lower extremities on each leg 16). These edge regions may be knitted or woven or knotted with a close knit/weave/knot formation, and may be then heat set into a tape-like configuration.

Alternatively, reinforcing tape or binding may be applied along the edge regions for reinforcement.

PREFERRED WOOL RETENTION NET MEASUREMENTS AND

FEATURES

9 Referring to Fig. 1, the main body of the net is preferably made from one piece of nylon netting, measuring ninety squares long by eighty squares wide (each square 17mm).

From the top left of northern-western edge of the back-line, count twenty-five squares south. Cut 30 squares in a straight line, east towards the centre of the net.

At the end of this cut the centre point of the tail-guard is sewn for ten squares each side of this point (17,18).

The spring wire for the tail-guard (11) is inserted (17 to 10 to 18), made from 900 millimetres long, galvanised high tensile wire. This is joined by the use of a telephone wire joiner or the like (19) to form a circle which by using a swaging tool is swaged together and then folded over to create a shape tail-guard spring with rounded end (Figs. 9 and This eliminates the current use of sharp ends that penetrate the selvedge material and cause abrasions to the sheep. The lower portion of the in the tail-guard spring (11) is bent forward (see Fig. 10) which when fitted to the net helps keep the net down between the legs, preventing faeces entering into the net.

From the back of the net (north-western corner) gather the net together. Join point to point (17) and encase the gathered material within the tail-guard material, then sew (17) to (21) into the tail-guard selvedge material.

The balance of the net sweeps around the leg, joining (22 to 23) forming a tapered tube. This procedure joins the net from the tail-guard to the hock creating a hind leg. The inner selvedge of the net is gathered and sewn along points (17 to 22, 23) and restricted to a length of 300 millimetres, preventing the net from slipping too far down the leg.

0 At the hock of the hind leg or extremity of the net a circular elastic sock material (16) is sewn in place.

From the back of the net (south-western corner) gather the net together. Join point (18 to 24) and encase the gathered material within the tail-guard material, and then sew (18) to (25) into the tail-guard selvedge material.

The balance of the net sweeps around the leg, joining (26 to 27) forming a tapered tube. This procedure joins the net from the tail-guard to the hock creating another hind leg. The inner selvedge of the net is gathered and sewn along points (18 to 26,27) and restricted to a length of 300 millimetres, preventing the net from slipping too far down the leg.

At the hock of the hind leg or extremity of the net a circular elastic sock (16) material is sewn in place.

e From the centre of the tail-guard counting twenty-five squares east to point From point and from point being six squares inclusive north and south from point cut eight squares in a straight line east toward the neck.

These openings create the area for the insertion of the two front legs.

The two front legs are made from two separate net material pieces 14. The net direction for front legs (refer to Fig. 4) uses the netting material in the opposite direction to that used for the main body (Fig. thus helping to prevent the leg from extending over the hoof.

The pattern for front legs incorporates fourteen squares in diameter at the top of the leg tapering to ten squares at at which point the circular elastic sock material (15) is sewn into place at the extremity of the smallest end of the funnel.

The material length of the leg piece is restricted to a total length of one hundred and sixty millimetres on the inside of the leg. The leg is formed by sewing the selvedge edges together, and then sewn into the main body of the net, with the selvedge matching the inner centre closest to the brisket of the sheep at points (33) and (34).

An elastic cord is threaded through the squares of the material on the northern edge of the net starting at point at the end of the tail-guard material. Weave the cord through four squares, then insert special designed retaining clip A sequence of weaving pattern now occurs starting with leaving four squares not woven followed by weaving cord through the next eight squares, then inserting a retaining clip, leave another four squares not woven and then weave through the next eight squares, then insert a clip. Repeat this procedure until the cord is over the front of the sheep's shoulder, where the elastic cord terminates at point and fastened to tail-guard material at (21).

The cord is clamped or knotted to the material, halfway through the eight woven squares, as at These clamps or knots stop the elastic cord pulling all the way through the net, before the next clamp is tensioned.

An elastic cord or flat elastic ribbon, approximately five hundred millimetres long, is woven between (37) and and fitted to the front of the net, around the head, and behind the ears and jaw. Points (37) and (38) are joined together with a clip.

This is possible due to the fact that the back-line roll has been eliminated from the conventional winding of the net, and a minimal tensioned neck principle is employed. This procedure does not pull the net off the head of the sheep.

The wider southern side of the net is spread over the back of the sheep. This spread of net allows for the varying sizes of sheep to be accommodated within the net. The clips can be hooked to prevent this side from slipping out of the net.

APPLICATION OF RETAINING NET AND METHOD FOR WOOL RETENTION IN A NET The retainer net can be fitted whilst the sheep is held in an upside down position in a race, or alternatively depending on the number of sheep and machinery availability, can be positioned between an individual's legs and held during the procedure, which commences with fitting the legs into the net. Once legs, and testicles, (if ram sheep) are inserted into the net, the sheep is then rolled over and one side of the net is spread across the back of the sheep and clipped to other side of the net which is then pulled up, lapped over and across the first side of the net, tensioned and clamped together. Both sides have now been tensioned in both girth and length by the use of the elastic cord threaded through one side of the net and held in position by retaining clips which prevents the net from opening.

The elastic cord forms a shape pattern, which pulls the net tight around the body of the sheep and also tensions the fleece along the back-line of the sheep. Being flexible, sheep can easily graze with their heads down or can squat to urinate because the elasticity along the back-line allows the fleece to expand and retract when the sheep regains normal composure. The tension will bring the rear of the fleece forward after the wool break occurs eliminating contamination from faeces being retained within the net.

No elastic cord is used along the length of the neck area, allowing sheep to raise and lower their necks whilst feeding without undue restraint. When restrained movement of the fleece occurs, it is probable that fleece cotting can happen. By minimising tension in the neck area, as in the present invention, wool cotting will be reduced.

The flexibility of the net design does not restrict the normal movement of sheep as much as the conventional net being used at present, therefore reducing the consequent 12 death from sheep that can not get to their feet, after donning, without human intervention.

The Retaining Clip (Figs. 7 and 8) Attached evenly along the V pattern elastic tension cord, is a specially designed retaining clip, named the SD clip. The elastic cord is tightened by hand, by pulling the SD clip, and the net across the sheep's back. The SD clip opens (Fig. 8) while being pulled by hand, and closes (Fig. 7) and clips to the net when the hand tension is released. The SD clip has been designed for ease of use, only requiring two fingers to pull the clip open and tension the net across the sheep, all in one easy movement. The SD clip has also been designed so that it is unclipped by pulling the hand grip, thus increasing the speed and efficiency of net removal. The sheep can not pull the clip undone as the clip design does not have protruding parts that can tangle in the net while being fitted to the sheep.

Universal Net Size The same sized net was successfully fitted to a 78kg wether sheep, a 35kg hogget sheep and to a 56kg ewe. The net design allows a wider range and variety in sheep sizes to be accommodated. The net when pulled across the sheep automatically adjusts to the length of the body allowing the net to be fitted to large or small bodied sheep.

With the elimination of fixed length selvedge on the side of the net (as in current practice), the net material can be used in the opposite direction. This allowing the net to expand or contract fitting a much wider range of sheep shapes and sizes, and is much less restrictive to the free movement of the sheep.

The net is designed to go down below the knee, thus eliminating the costly preparation of shearing the leg wool. This pre-preparation procedure creates uneven length carding wool, and skin pieces, instead of combing length wool, free of skin pieces.

The inner fixed length selvedge of the leg is designed to prevent the net being pulled over the hoof of the sheep.

13 The net is designed so that no elastic cord is used over the neck area, allowing the sheep to raise and lower their necks whilst feeding without any restraints. When tension and movement are present, it is likely that cotting of the fleece will occur. By having minimal tension in the neck area, as in the present invention, helps reduce cotting of the wool. It is now possible to fit an elastic cord or a flat elastic ribbon around the neck just behind the ears collecting all the wool of the poll in the net. This procedure is possible as there is no fixed length selvedge along the backline to the top of the head, which previously prevented this economical practice from occurring. This procedure does not require the special pre-donning preparation with the hand piece, thus saving cost.

A pizzel insert is no longer required, except for ram sheep. An opening (39 in Fig. 1) is provided for use on rams. This will reduce cost of manufacture, and loss of wool through the insert, and the need to routinely tip and check each sheep after the net has been fitted. The inventive net is not fitted tightly to the sheep, thus eliminating cotted wool, and no damage to the wether's sheath.

The fleece retention net of the present invention preferably includes an improved tailguard (Figs. 9 and 10), to eliminate problems experienced with currently used tailguards, which have sharp ends which penetrate the selvedge and either harm the sheep or become entangled in the net, or both. The tail-guard configuration of the present invention prevents the tail-guard frame from penetrating through the selvedge thus avoiding the above described prior art problems.

Another advantage of the design of the fleece retention net according to the invention is that the V-pattern tensioning system, using elastic cord, pulls the net up and away from the tail of the sheep, thus keeping the faeces from becoming entangled in the net.

With the optional inclusion of a zipper, placed along the two side edges of the net, used in conjunction with the cord tensioning system herein described, the quantity of net material required when overlapping the two edges of the net can be reduced, 14 reducing the cost of the net. The elastic cord tension system would provide tension over the top of the zip and net.

In an experimental trial using the fleece retaining net of the present invention, the wool from the trial sheep was harvested five weeks after being injected with EGF. During this trial period, 138mm of rain was recorded at the site of the netted sheep. It must be taken into consideration that a fleece takes up to three days to dry once wet, therefore the trial sheep's fleece remained damp for approximately 45% of the time during the trial period. Even with this amount of rain, the wool and net remained well positioned on the sheep, with no visible disadvantage to the quality of the wool.

The main body of the fleece retention net of the present invention is made from one piece of nylon or plastics material, which reduces the risk of contamination of the wool. Because of the one piece design, plus two front leg inserts, there is less cost in cutting the material and sewing it together. By utilising the natural stretch of the material, the nets are able to fit a wide range of sheep sizes, thus reducing the cost of manufacturing and the handling and storage of different size nets. The elastic cord used within the net design is easily obtained and reasonably priced. The benefits of the net tail-guard, achieves a much better result without adding extra cost. Overall, the net is more economical to manufacture.

The main objective of the design, by changing the direction of the net material, is to give as much natural freedom to the sheep as possible, and not restrict its natural movement, therefore this net has major advantages over the existing net. The Vpattern tension cord allows a more improved and greater flexibility for sheep movement. The net is designed so that no elastic cord is used over the neck area, allowing the sheep to raise and lower their necks whilst feeding without any restraints.

The tail-guard has been designed so that the V pattern tension system of the elastic cord pulls the net up and away from the tail, keeping the faeces from becoming entangled in the net.

The SD clip is made from steel, but could be constructed from a heat resistant, light-weight plastic material. By fixing the SD clip permanently onto the net, eliminates the cost of once only use, (as in the present method of applying the ties).

As the net design does away with the need to thread, align and tie the individual zipties, which is time consuming, the SD clip, is simply pulled over the sheep, opening the clip and hooks to the net. When required to release the net, pull on the clip handle and lift from net. This practice means no contamination and damage to the net occurs when compared to cutting ties on removal, as is the current procedure. The SD clip increases the efficiency and speed of the wool harvesting system.

The fleece retention net of the present invention can be fitted to sheep manually, without mechanical aids. However, on a commercial basis a 'V belt sheep handler' is the only machinery required to make it easier to fit and remove the net.

By overlapping the net, and attaching the two finger clip, the net can be fitted quickly and easily, and as the removal of the clip is extremely fast, a greater number of sheep can be donned or doffed per day, with less time wasted.

From the foregoing description of the invention, it is apparent that it improves on current practices and procedures, and provides a superior, more efficient and easier to fit fleece retention net for all wool producers.

Although an exemplary embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described, it will be apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art that a number of changes, modifications or alterations to the invention described herein may be made, none of which depart from the spirit of the present invention. All such changes, modifications, and alterations should therefore be seen as being within the scope of the present invention.

It should be appreciated the present invention provides a substantial advance in fleece retention nets, providing all of the herein-described advantages without incurring any relative disadvantages.

Claims (11)

1. A re-usable fleece retaining net for fitting to a fleece bearing animal, including a substantially rectangular coat body of net or mesh material for enclosing at least a substantial portion of the fleece of the animal when fitted to the body of the animal, wherein said net or mesh material encloses or encircles the animal in an overlapping manner and is retained in the overlapped configuration by a plurality of spaced-apart spring retaining clip means attached to the outer perimeter of the coat body by elastic means and being removably attachable to the opposite side of the net, said net adapted to retain the fibres comprising a fleece on said animal during a period when at least a portion of each of said fibres is weakened and/or separated as a result of administration of an effective amount of biological defleecing agent to said animal.

2. A fleece retaining net as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the coat body is adapted to enclose or encircle the upper portions at least of the hind legs of the animal

3. A fleece retaining net as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the coat body includes apertures for the front legs of the animal and further includes attachable extensions adapted to individually encircle the upper portions at least of the front legs of the animal

4. A fleece retaining net as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the net includes apertures adapted to adopt substantially closed or substantially open polyhedral dimensions as a function of longitudinal or cross-longitudinal tension applied to said net. A fleece retaining net as claimed in claim 4, wherein the apertures are polygonal in shape

6. A fleece retaining net as claimed in claim 4 or claim 5, when appended to claim 3, wherein the longitudinal direction of the apertures of the net in the coat body 17 is transverse to the longitudinal direction of the apertures of the net in the attachable front leg extensions thereof

7. A fleece retaining net as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the net includes an elasticised band at one end to serve as a collar when the net is fitted around the neck of an animal

8. A fleece retaining net as claimed in claim 7, wherein an elongated slit is provide in the side of the net opposite to the collar, and slit extending inwardly from said opposite side about one third of the distance between said one end and said opposite side, wherein the innermost end of the elongated slit is adapted in use to surround and form a tail opening for the animal

9. A fleece retaining net as claimed in claim 8, wherein a shaped wire frame is provided in a selvedge surround to said opening to maintain a predetermined shape of the opening A fleece retaining net as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 9, further including elasticised bands attached to extremity regions for leg portions for enabling said net to be secured around each leg of the animal, respectively.

11. A biological defleecing process including steps of: a. administering an effective amount of a biological defleecing agent to a sheep sufficient to allow weakening of substantially all of the wool fibres comprising the coat or fleece of the sheep under the influence of the biological defleecing agent over a predetermined period of time; b. applying a fleece retaining net of the type claimed in any one of the preceding claims to said coat, said net adapted to retain the fibres forming said coat or fleece within said net; c. leaving the fleece retention net in place for a predetermined time; d. removing the retention net after said predetermined time whereby a substantial and homogenous portion of the coat or fleece of said sheep 18 comes away with said net leaving said sheep substantially free of wool; and e. separating said coat or fleece from said net as a substantially homogeneous unit.

12. A fleece retaining net as claimed in any one claims 1 to 10, substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated with reference to the drawings.

13. A biological defleecing process as claimed in claim 11, substantially as hereinbefore described. Dated this 3 rd day of June 2004 NEVILLE JAMES BLAKE HODGKINSON OLD McINNES Patent Attorneys for the Applicant