Some sheep producers say a new requirement that sheep must be branded with hot irons before they can be shipped south of the border is cruel.

Canadian cattle were banned from United States markets after the bovine spongiform encephalopathy crisis hit in May 2003 – but so were other farm animals, such as sheep and lambs.

With the border finally reopening to all live imports this week, producers can send lambs younger than 12 months south of the border once again. But they'll have to be hot-branded first, something sheep producer Dwayne Morvik of Eastend, Sask., says he's never seen done before.

New U.S. rules say imported lambs and older sheep must be branded. (File photo)

"When you're talking about branding cattle for export to the States, you're usually talking about an animal that's 800 to 900 pounds," he said.

"We're talking about lambs here that are 80 to 90 pounds, and to put a large brand on a small lamb would just be cruel."

In Canada, sheep are identified by ear tags, a system the Americans don't recognize.

Morvik said that in addition to the cruelty issue, branding a lamb means shaving off valuable wool. It would also ruin the skin, which is used in leather products.

In any event, Saskatchewan's sheep development board is encouraging producers to sell their products at home.

According to board spokesman Gordon Schroeder, producers generated only half the lamb consumed in Canada before the U.S. border closed. Since then, the industry has been saved by developing homegrown markets, he said.