Dead Sheep Litter Addington Car Park

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28833, 2 March 1959, Page 10

Dead Sheep Litter Addington Car Park

The main car parte of the Addington Trotting grounds, at the corner of Lincoln road and Wright’s road, was strewn with dead sheep on Saturday morning. The. sheep were part of a mob of about 650 to 700 which had been railed from the Hawarden ewe fair on Thursday, and driven to the trotting ground after being unloaded at the Addington Baleyards. About 80 dead sheep were counted on Saturday morning and by yesterday afternoon the death roll was believed to. have risen to about 120.

On their way to the trotting grqunds the sheep were takbn along Wright’s road. ’ It is believed that footpaths in this area were sprayed with an arsenical weed killer last week, and that the sheep might have been poisoned through .grazing on the roadside, as they were being taken to the holding paddock. The affected mob was being handled by a local stock firm and its stockman found the dead sheep on Staurday morning. The mob was moved away along Lincoln road to paddocks near Halswell, but it. is understood that deaths have continued. A dog belonging to one of the stockmen was seen to be looking ill and is reported to have disappeared. Another stock firm was holding a mob of sheep, also from the Hawarden ewe fair, in a paddock at the back of the trotting ground, but these so far have not been affected. i

After the outbreak of deaths in the car park mob, the second mob was moved quickly through the trouble area to other grazing

at Hals well. Two dogs belonging to one of the stockmen were subsequently seen to be vomiting, and one of these, aged 8 or 9 years, is believed to have died on Saturday afternoon. During the week-end truck loads of dead carcases were removed to boiling doWh works. The engineer of the Waimairi County' Council, (Mr D. P. McLelland) said last evening that he believed an arsenical weed spray had been used in the Wright’s rokd area last week. He had received reports of sheep dying after being driven through the area. As far as he could recall no previous complaints about the use of the weed killer had been received.