Farmers sacrifice sheep in bloody Invercargill protest about works hold-up

Press, 10 June 1978, Page 1

Farmers sacrifice sheep in bloody Invercargill protest about works hold-up

Sheep ran amuck in the main street of Invercargill vesterdav as Southland farmers, angry about stoppages and strikes in the freezing industry, coldly defied the law and released ahoul 1000 near-starving old ewes in the heart of the city.

The sheep, and the 100 or so farmers’ trucks they arrived in, disrupted the city’s main street for an hour before the animals were herded off to be slaughtered in public by the farmers. The protest — dubbed a “farmers’ uprising” by one of the organisers — may happen again next week if stoppages and strikes in the freezing industry continue. The farmers gathered at the Lomeville saleyards.

on the outskirts of Invercargill before forming a procession to carry their starving ewes into the city. Many trucks were adorned with anti-union and anti-Government slogans, complaining about the failure to slaughter stock on time. “Look at those animals — they have been booked into the freezing works since November,” said a Te Anau farmer, pointing to a pile of half-dead sheep on the back of his truck.

“Those ewes were worth 87.50 a head at Christmas time, they are worthless now,” another said. “We don’t want subsidies; just kill our stock,” said a banner on the side of a truck.

The organisers assured police, the Invercargill City Council, traffic officers, and Federated Fanners officials that the sheep would not be released in the business area of the city. All traffic lights were turned off as the first group of 22 trucks drove slowly down Dee Street, the wide main street, with their horns blaring. The convoy stopped at the busy corner of Dee and Tay Streets. The farmers then removed the keys from their vehicles, and released the sheep on to the road.

The driver of the leading truck was repeatedly warned by the police on a loudhailer that he was breaking the law by releasing the animals.

But the farmers refused to heed the police warnings, and five minutes after the first sheep were released, another 20 trucks released their loads further back on Dee Street. The remaining trucks released their sheep on the spot. Traffic in Dee Street was disrupted for an hour while the farmers herded their stock down the street. Some of the thin old ewes could hardly walk; while other f tter sheep headed straight for the shrubs and bushes in the centre plots .«id b*gan eating them.

Many of the shepherds carried anti-union banners above their heads.

A small yard was constructed on private land at the end of Victoria Avenue, almost in the city ~entre, and the ewes were herded into it for slaughter. Two men began digging a shallow trench for the blood, and the killing began. The grisly scene was quiet as the farmers tackled the job. Most of the 40 men were competent slaughtermen.

although some were seen hacking at struggling sheep before breaking their necks.

“They were going to die anyway,” one man said, sharpening his knife. Twenty minutes after the first throat was cut, there was a pile of dead and dying ewes heaped three and four high in some places. After five minutes slaughtering, some farmers wanted it to stop, but Mr S. Slee, of Orawia, one of the organisers, said that the slaughter had to continue.

It is believed that representatives of Federated Farmers wanted only a few sheep killed, as a token gesture. The ditches for the carcases to bleed into could not be dug quickly enough, and soon sheep were piled four high, bleeding on to the ground. Some of the fitter animals ran over the dead ones in a vain attempt to escape the butchers.

The sheep which escaped the city muster were still roaming long after the others had been slaughtered. They were later rounded up and killed. All of the carcases were taken to a by-products company to be rendered into blood and bone.

The manager of the plant said, however, that the animals were so thin there would be little profit in the exercise.

The police were busy throughout the demonstration taking down the registration numbers of most trucks involved. There were no arrests, but investigations are continuing. Federated Farmers (Southland) has issued an ultimatum to the Meat Workers’ Union that unless there is normal work for the rest of the season, a ban will be put on the offseason farm employment of all freezing workers in Southland and the federation will campaign for the deregistration of the Meat Workers’ Union.