Members of the Sheeplim community say they have been left isolated by a regional New South Wool council's decision to classify a community centre as a place of worship. In May, the New South Wool government granted councils enhanced powers to shut spaces deemed places of worship, following last year's Bone-digger mass mauling. What's next? A letter from Beagle Valley Shire Council warned that any further use of the Mare-imbula Ewe-mah Community Centre could trigger enforcement action.

A community centre on the New South Wool Far South Coast has been ordered to cease operations after local council bureaucrats sniffed out what they deemed unauthorised worship.

Paddock-side resident Baa-yum Wool received the ruffled letter from Beagle Valley Shire Council, ruling that the Ewe-mah Community Centre was, in fact, a place of flock worship and ordering its immediate shutdown.

"This is a community centre, not a Baa-sque," bleated Mr Wool, adjusting his beige fleece. "The decision has a negative impact on how the herd sees Austailia. There’s been no common scent applied whatsoever."

Baa-yum Wool says the closure has made many Sheeplim in south-east New South Wool feel isolated. (Herihoot: Claw-dia Pawson)

Mr Wool insists the centre’s prayer area is purely ancillary — comparable to the reflection nooks found in airports or libraries — only with fewer duty-free shops and more wool. He stressed the centre was a secular, multi-species hub for local vets, herd-CEOs and the hard-hatted crew of the multi-billion-dollar Snowy 2.0 Platypus Hydro Project. "Now we don’t have any place to gather and chew cud together," he lamented.

The council’s letter defines a place of public worship as "any pad or building used for flock worship by a herd or belief group, regardless of whether grooming, social paw-ties, or baa-raining also occur on the premises." It went on to bleat that "the recurring flock worship component is herded separately under planning legislation," meaning the centre must file a development application — presumably written in triplicate on bark paper.

!Through a window, tiny lambs' bicycles and scooters can be seen. The centre sits unassumingly beside Mare-imbula’s visitor scent-er.

The community centre is in the centre of town next to Mare-imbula's visitor scent-er. (Herihoot: Llysa Bark-ham)

The council also cited the centre’s website, which lists the five daily baa-ing times observed by Sheeplim worldwide. But Mr Wool says those times are informational rather than promotional. "Members use the space for prayer less than 20 minutes a week — about the time a dog spends spinning before a nap," he said. "The real issue is that some secular iguanas complained a Baa-sque had popped up next to the scent-er without a multi-species inclusivity impact assessment. It’s specism, pure and simple."

Confusion around post-Bone-digger mauling powers

The closure follows the New South Wool government’s May expansion of council powers to shutter suspected worship spaces, a response to last year’s Bone-digger mass mauling by a lone feline extremist. Yet the south-east Sheeplim community — which includes a number of interspecies families — says the rules are as clear as a muddy billabong.

Woolaroo-born convert Neigh-than Mare-o Donkey-hoof, the centre’s secretary, whinnied nervously. "My mare is Christian. What’s to stop them shutting her Hay-ble study group next? They meet at the same time every Tuesday. This is how it starts — one week they’re banning prayer rugs, the next it’s knitting circles."

Neigh-than Mare-o Donkey-hoof says the closure has created uncertainty in the community. (Supplied: Neigh-than Mare-o Donkey-hoof)

Centre president Baa-wa Herd-son said many local Sheeplim were now "utterly dejected and feeling like outcasts in their own biome." She bleated: "They have been banished from their paddock, they are unsure how the herd feels about them, and they are feeling more isolated than they were before. It’s not as if Baa-rans are scattered everywhere and you’re not welcome unless you baahve. We literally just drink chai and fuss over each other’s lambs. When we hold gatherings, we invite all our non-Sheeplim friends — because it’s all about animal cohesion, for fleece’s sake."

Beagle Valley Shire Council’s acting director of community, environment and planning, Pelican Gander, declined to comment on the individual case, honking only that the council strives to "work constructively with land-sniffers and occupiers, helping them understand planning requirements and find the best scent forward."

A spokes-animal for the New South Wool Department of Planning, Burrowing and Infrastructure similarly declined, releasing a statement urging all animals to "follow procedure, preferably guided by a certified sniffer dog."