Overview
- In a Sunday Times column this week, Clarkson wrote that a prized Valais blacknose ewe at his Diddly Squat farm developed mastitis that worsened to gangrene and was put down after a vet assessment.
- The sheep and her lambs were moved into a makeshift maternity ward and given antibiotics overnight before the vet concluded euthanasia was necessary.
- Clarkson says he spent about an hour consoling his partner Lisa Hogan, who was described as distraught, and that the couple then had to bottle‑feed the orphaned lambs.
- National and regional outlets have run Clarkson’s account alongside promotion for Clarkson’s Farm series five, which Prime Video will begin showing from June 3.
- The episode illustrates two broader points about Diddly Squat: Valais blacknose sheep are costly and emotionally valued by the family, and routine problems such as mastitis can force rapid medical and operational choices on small farms.