Entire flocks of lambs were shipped over from the UK and Australia to Japan by an internet company and marketed as the latest 'must have' accessory. But the scam was only spotted after a leading Japanese actress said her 'poodle' didn't bark and refused to eat dog food.
Well, if urban Americans/Europeans don't know where bacon comes from, and a Hollywood studio can release an animated feature starring a male cow, complete with udder, what's to say that urban, fashion-conscious Japanese would necessarily know what a lamb looks like?
It's been Snope'd!
http://www.snopes.com/critters/lurkers/poodlesheep.asp
Incidentally, it is on the front page of the Hong Kong edition of Metro, so the story should be guilty until proven innocent in any case.
Folks are questioning the accuracy of the story (http://www.metafilter.com/60644/Ewe-wont-believe-this-folks), because they do actually farm sheep in Japan, and one would therefore assume people know what they look like, and no mention of this can be found in the Japanese media. Still, it's a neat idea, I'm sure some people could be fooled this way.