For Big Tom and Oil and all the other Sheep lovers....
A testicle grown in a laboratory on the back of a genetically modified mouse called Atlas has been successfully transplanted into a female sheep. The sheep can now reproduce without the requirement for mating or artificial insemination.
Scientists have described how the combi-sexual ewe, known informally as Mary, performed its own 'immaculate conception'. Following a slightly longer than normal confinement, Mary had a little lamb.
Amazingly, the lamb exhibited traits of both male and female sheep, and it too has the ability to produce young without mating. Agriculturalists are excited about the potential for the new sheep to populate inhospitable areas with genetically perfect specimens. No human intervention would be required because the sheep can flock itself.
There are also some additional benefits to the new breed. The Public Union of Farmers and Livestock is not a trade association, it's a worrying trend in the countryside, and scientists believe this could be eradicated using flocks of ewes which are less 'girly'.