OMG! This Tobacco Addict Sheep Loves Cigarettes Over Juicy Leaves

The sheep can be usually spotted near tea shops pestering smokers for a few cigarettes.

Sheep loves tobacco and cigarettes

(Photo: AP/Newsflare Screenshot)

Would you believe us if we told you that not only humans, but even animals can get addicted to tobacco? Well, this sheep will leave you startled.

Residents of a village near Mandya in Karnataka are amazed by a sheep, which has made a remarkable change to its diet.

Addicted to nicotine, it loves to feed on cigarettes and other tobacco products, preferring them over its regular fodder.

It can usually be spotted near tea shops, pestering smokers for a few cigarettes. As the strange diet has turned the sheep into a local celebrity, many of them pamper it and even offer the sheep cigarettes

While it prefers cigarettes, the sheep is open to gulping down hand-rolled 'beedis' and chewing tobacco as well.

Yashwant, who owns the sheep, said it began feeding on cigarette butts it came across while grazing.

The local farmers use tobacco in small doses to deworm animals. They say animals fall sick if they are made to eat tobacco in large quantities.

Also read: Bizarre Yet Adorable: Mother Dog Feeds Hungry Baby Goats

It could even be seen licking discarded sachets of chewing tobacco...The addiction grew and now it prefers cigarettes to its regular fodder.

Yashwant, Owner

Sheep chewing tobacco(Photo: AP/Newsflare Screenshot)

In 2011, a team of researchers probed the impact of cigarette butt consumption on humans and animals. In the study published in The BMJ, they reported that nicotine ingestion caused excessive salivation, excitement, tremors, vomiting, lack of coordination, weakness, convulsions, respiratory failure and even death in animals.

But the tobacco addict sheep seems to pay little heed to local wisdom or scientific findings.

"It has even put on some weight and looks healthy," said Mari Gowda, a local resident.

We often read health advisory on cigarette boxes and tobacco packets saying ‘Smoking is injurious to health’, but this sheep seemingly discards all such warnings for its love for tobacco.

Also read: Over 1,300 Sheep Take Over the Streets of Madrid

Video Editor: Vishal Kumar

(Breathe In, Breathe Out: Are you finding it tough to breathe polluted air? Join hands with FIT in partnership with #MyRightToBreathe to find a solution to pollution. Send in your suggestions to [e-mail] or WhatsApp @ [phone])