AN enterprising wildlife park owner has extracted the Michael from tourists by using marker paint to turn sheep ‘tartan’.

Maxine Scott spray-painted some sheep in a garish orange/red colour interspersed with pin-stripes. This was accompanied by a sign which explained that the sheep turned that colour naturally so that the wool could be used for kilts and blankets.

Apparently, it’s a long-standing tradition to paint the sheep at Auchingarroch Wildlife Centre, at Comrie, near Crieff, as a former owner had started it. Many different colours and ‘tartans’ have been produced over the years.

It appears now to be a dyed-in-the-wool annual project because the yanks like them that way!