New Zealand- The Sheep Run.

NEW ZEALAND-THE SHEEP RUN.

Intimidating crowd numbers at the Scanda New Zealand Shears Running of the Sheep, the world’s biggest sheep run held annually in Te Kuiti, caused more than a thousand sheep to run scared through the ’shearing capital of the world’ on April 4.

Guided by six shepherds and their dogs, 1477 sheep began to freak out as the crowd, estimated to contain as many as 12,000 spectators, cluttered the road.

"We underestimated the size of the crowd, which is usually around 6000 people – it was double that," organiser John Fagan said.

The fleeing sheep were scattered and had to be rounded up from backyards throughout the small town. All of the runaway sheep were accounted for in the end.

Not all of the sheep escaped: three to four hundred completed the run, which is approximately 1km long, and were met by Prime Minister John Key at the finish line.

It had been reported that one spectator was knocked unconscious by one of the sheep and needed to be hospitalised.

Mr Fagan argued that it was not the sheep’s fault.

"The woman tripped walking backwards, it had nothing to do with the sheep," he said.

He put the accident down to being an unfortunate consequence of having such a large-scale event.

"Between 10,000 to 12,000 people and 1500 sheep, things do happen, which is part of the excitement," Mr Fagan said.

The sheep run has been an annual event since 2004 and continues to generate more and more interest, sparking curiosity all over the world.

"We had a marvelous response, we even had radio stations ringing up from Australia," Mr Fagan said.

Mr Fagan is confident that next year’s event will go ahead. The only difference will be that a rope will be put up to keep the sheep on the road and the public out of the way.