Wanted: At least 1,000 furry sheep

Ireland, once touted as a success economic story of Europe, has had its share of financial difficulties with tens of thousands of residents moving out of the country in search of new fortunes.

And now, it has run into another serious problem: A lack of furry sheep.

Ireland has been famous for its annual international shearing contest for which there needs to be 6,000 sheep with plenty of fur.

With only a few weeks to go before the contest, there is still a shortage of about 1,000 and organizers had little ideas how they are going to fill the gap.

The main reason why the gathering of the sheep is such a challenge is that the sheep have to be between 12 to 14 months old.

Hence, the search continues for the remaining 1,000 sheep to be presented for cool shearing near Dublin for four days from May 22.

This is truly an international event with entries for competition from as many as 38 countries around the world.