Reuben Owen, 21, has prompted confused and concerned reactions from Our Yorkshire Farm fans following an appearance on his mum's social media page.
Mum Amanda Owen, also known as the Yorkshire Shepherdess, regularly keeps fans up to date with farming life from her farm in the Yorkshire Dales, but it's safe to say the latest update hasn't gone down well.
Just days after sparking concern with her own conduct on ITV's Lorraine, Amanda took to Instagram to share a snippet of Reuben lending a helping hand at the family's farm, Ravenseat.
Reuben, who runs his own contracting business away from the farm as well as fronting his own Channel 5 farming show, spends much of his time outside of Ravenseat but made a return to help his mum, Amanda, for lambing season.
Reuben Owen's handling of the sheep on the farm has sparked concern among Our Yorkshire Farm fans
With the mum-of-nine now with her hands full more than ever, thanks to her ewes giving birth, her eldest son returned to lend a helping hand.
In an update from Ravenseat, Amanda recorded her son lying on top of a ewe while his leg holds its lamb back.
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Amanda suggested in the accompanying caption that the ewe may have been acting unruly, with Reuben having to "spring into action" to catch the sheep.
"Caught ewe," she began. "Reuben downs tools and springs into action. *Everyone lends a hand, there is no one exempt from lambing time tasks*."
She signed off the post with a series of hashtags, including "#yorkshire #swaledale #farm #shepherdess #lambing".
The social media post featured a clip of Reuben in action, lying on the ewe with his body while his leg kept the lamb stationary.
Reuben Owen and mum Amanda also featured in a selfie in her latest update
However, as it moved on, Reuben can be seen getting to his feet and grabbing the sheep by its horn. He then proceeds to drag the ewe away.
Amanda also shared a still image of Reuben on top of the sheep before rounding off her update with a selfie alongside her son inside their van.
While fans are usually ecstatic to see the latest goings-on at Ravenseat, Reuben's handling of the ewe prompted horrified reactions from some of Amanda's fans.
So much so, several demanded the Our Farm Next Door star provide context to assure fans the sheep wasn't harmed.
"Could you explain what's happening?" one follower wrote in the comments of the post before a second similarly shared: "Would be really useful to explain what is happening."
Others expressed their dismay more plainly, with a third typing: "Why are you treating the ewe like that? Absolutely disgusting and I’m disappointed as I thought you were better than that."
Meanwhile, a fourth echoed: "I didn't like how you held the sheep! Absolutely disturbing! Animals are treated with respect and not like trash!"
However, Amanda and Reuben did receive the support of other fans who rushed to the pair's defence.
Reuben Owen restrains a ewe in his mum's latest update
"Please ignore comments from any animal activist," one person argued. "If we all listened to them, nothing would ever get done and we’d all be starving by now. Carry on farming." (sic)
Amanda has since returned to the social media platform following the controversy, but has avoided engaging in criticism of her son's conduct.
Instead, Amanda reminded her 533k followers that there was a new episode of Our Farm Next Door airing on More4 on Tuesday evening.
Alongside a snap of her three youngest daughters, Amanda penned: "Sometimes there’s (poo emoji) to deal with and it’s just a case of rolling up your sleeves and getting on with it.
"We need to see movement from our lamb and you lovely folk to the tv, no ifs or buts... So get yourself to a screen TONIGHT. Tune into the latest episode of Our Farm Next Door, 9pm on More4." (sic)
