Farmers yesterday blasted "sheep rights" activists who they claimed put pressure on the competition's organisers at the Kent County Show in Detling.
Hugh Skinner, of Aragon Farm, Sissinghurst, said: "It is another example of the public being separated from what goes on in the countryside."
Fellow farmer Tony Mowbray added: "This is madness. Shearers are trained professionals. Of course sheep get the odd nick but it's never very serious."
The Kent County Agricultural Society said the contest was scrapped after people complained about how the sheep were treated. A spokesman said: "The welfare of the animals is a major concern."
Shearers from Australia and New Zealand were among those who flocked to the contest, held every July, in a bid to become the fastest to clip a sheep.
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