Rescuers rappel down cliff face to rescue stranded sheep

Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Animal rescuers in Wales rappelled 82 feet down a cliff edge to rescue a sheep that was stranded down the cliff for about a week.

The RSPCA Cymru said a rope rescue team responded to the cliff in the Pitton area of Rhossili, in the Gower Peninsula, where a sheep had been reported stranded on a ledge for about a week.

The rescue group posted a video to YouTube showing the rescuers abseiling down the cliff to rescue the sheep Jan. 10.

The sheep was found to be free of serious injury and was released, the RSPCA said.

"This was a really important rescue to be involved in, with this sheep clearly in urgent need of our help," RSPCA Animal Welfare Officer Andre Harris said.

"Rope rescues are always complex -- and a thorough risk assessment was required, before we abseiled down this cliff and reached the poor stranded animal," Harris said. "The sheep was understandably scared, and we had a tricky job safely getting hold of the animal. However, thanks to a pretty good catch, we were able to safely get hold and bag-up the sheep, before winching the animal back to safe ground."