Farmer Loses 1200 Sheep In Storm

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29801, 18 April 1962, Page 14

Farmer Loses 1200 Sheep In Storm

About 1200 Romney sheep valued at more than £3OOO were drowned on the property of a farmer at Birdlings Spit on Sunday evening.

The farmer, Mr J. Coop, said that of his entire flock of more than 1500 sheep, only about 300 had been saved. Had it not been for the assistance of local farmers, not even these would have been saved, he said. Yesterday the 360-acre block in which the sheep had been grazing presented a scene of devastation. The waters had receded, leaving hundreds of sheep • lying dead on the grass, many piled in huge heaps against the fence. Also piled against the fence were dozens of young swans. These, too. had been killed in the storm. Debris on the fences showed the water had risen to more than three feet in many parts of the paddock.

Mr Coop said that on Sunday the paddock was quite dry, but on Sunday evening the waters of Lake Ellesmere, whipped by the storm, must have risen and covered the entire block to a depth of nearly three feet. Caught in Fence

The highest water mark was more than 1000 yards abotfe normal. Some of the sheep were caught up in the fence, where they had tried to struggle through. On Monday morning the water receded slightly, and by Monday evening it was almost back to normal, leaving hundreds of dead sheep lying in the paddock. Yesterday some of the sheep which had been saved were lying around two former Air Force buildings about a mile from the lake edge, but few if any of these were expected to survive. Mr Coop said there was no way in which he could recover anything from the

sheep. It was planned, with the help of neighbours, to collect them in one place and bury them. With more than 1000 sheep scattered about the block this was going to be a difficult job, but it was hoped to obtain the help of a mechanical loader. The block on which the sheep were pastured had originally been reserved for browntop. but the geese on the lake had destroyed most of it and so the sheep had been put on the block. Appeal to Farmers

An appeal to farmers near Lake Ellesmere to assist Mr Coop to clear the sheep was made last evening by the Hydatids Control Officer for the Banks Peninsula hydatids area (Mr R. McCreanor). Volunteers are asked to bring cars and trailers or trucks to cart the sheep away, and to meet at Mr Coop’s home at 9 a.m. today. Mr McCreanor said that if the sheep were not shifted, they were liable to bloat. If the lake rose again the sheep might, by floating away, foul drains and create a hydatids risk to dogs round the lake shore.