News: April 2007 Archives

Japanese Sheep Scam

Thousands of Japanese were tricked into buying sheep that were shaved to look like poodles.

Flocks of sheep were imported to Japan and then sold by a company called Poodles as Pets, marketed as fashionable accessories, available at $1,600 each.
That is a snip compared to a real poodle which retails for twice that much in Japan.

The scam was uncovered when Japanese moviestar Maiko Kawamaki went on a talk-show and wondered why her new pet would not bark or eat dog food.

This. Is. Hilarious. I love the Japanese.

Japanese police believe there could be 2,000 people affected by the scam, which operated in Sapporo and capitalised on the fact that sheep are rare in Japan, so many do not know what they look like.
"We launched an investigation after we were made aware that a company were selling sheep as poodles,'' Japanese police said.

"Sadly we think there is more than one company operating in this way."

Be careful! Someone find me a picture of these sheep-poodles so we can see how good the scam is for ourselves.

(HT: SW.)