Heavy Stock Losses Feared In Otago

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31723, 5 July 1968, Page 10

Heavy Stock Losses Feared In Otago

(New Zealand Press Association) DUNEDIN, July 4. Fears for the safety of hundreds of sheep trapped in thick snow in the Wanaka, Cardrona, and Grown Range areas are mounting. Heavy losses are likely if the cold weather continues.

It will be a week tomorrow since snow started to fall in these areas, and the sheep have been without feed.

Some farmers in the Cardrona area started "snow raking” today, said the livestock instructor for the Department of Agriculture at Wanaka (Mr J. W. Neale). This involves stamping the snow into a track and getting the sheep to follow to safer ground. It is extremely hard work, and farmers are working from daylight to dusk in an attempt to save as many sheep as possible. Mr T. Wallace, of Luggate Game Packers, Ltd, has had four helicopters working part-time, sheep spotting and carrying hay. Tonight he said he intended to place one helicopter on this work full-time. Mr C. M. Burdon, of Mount Burke Station, said tonight that station hands had been unable to get to the top of the station to rescue sheep, but had found about 300 on

the lower slopes and moved them to safer ground. Mr Burdon said the snow was the worst for 10 years. He had expected snow to 3000 ft, but it had come down to 2000 ft “The livelihood of a number of people could be seriously affected by this snow,” he said.

Prospects at Queenstown and the surrounding area were improving, Mr B. J. Booth, the livestock instructor there, said tonight. “Things are a lot brighter. The sun shone today, and on some of the warmer slopes the grass is starting to show through.”