No complaints yet from sheep: dept

Agriculture officials have yet to hear from sheep reportedly upset they've been sworn at.

An extraordinary complaint, in which animal activists reported shearers at a NSW property for abuse because they were upsetting the herd with abusive language, generated global headlines last week.

While the case has been dropped, the issue came up at a Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday with Nationals senator John Williams demanding to know if department officials had received any formal complaints - from the sheep themselves.

"Not yet senator," policy official Fran Freeman said.

Senator Williams said it was infuriating "do-gooders" were making assumptions that sheep could understand English.

"Give us a break," he said.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has defended its complaint arguing it did not just involve offensive language but physical abuse, including stomping and punching of the sheep.