Australia's mutton glut sent prices tumbling, and some farmers are culling or giving away their sheep to save costs instead of rearing them on-farm. Mutton prices have slumped 70% over the past year to $1.23 per kg, data provided by Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) showed. Driving the large sheep flock were three years of above-average rainfall in Australia's sheep regions, such as New South Wales and Victoria. "Farmers have [since] seen a massive fall in profitability … Many sheep may not have a market which could lead to farmers destroying animals," Steve McGuire, vice president of agricultural advocacy group WAFarmers, told CNBC. He added that farmers would much rather give the animals away than cull them, but there hasn't been many takers for the free sheep.

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Persons: Tim Jackson, Andrew Spencer, Steve McGuire, hasn't Organizations: Meat, Livestock Australia, Sheep Producers Australia, CNBC, Farmers Locations: Australia, New South Wales, Victoria