WORRYING OF SHEEP

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 283, 24 August 1940, Page 18

WORRYING OF SHEEP

Attacks By Stray Dogs COMPLAINTS TO MINISTER Complaints of the worrying of sheep by wandering dogs in the Wanganui and Wairarapa districts were mentioned by a local body deputation which interviewed the Minister of Internal Affairs, Mi’. Parry. It was stated that the attacks made by’ stray dogs on sheep seemed to come at certain intervals of the year, and this year the attacks were being made when very young lambs were about paddocks near main and arterial roads. The loss of sheep and lambs was serious, not only to farmers but to the country which, during the war, needed the highest production possible from the land. Mr. Parry said the Government was equally apprehensive of the losses which sheep and lamb-killing by dogs brought to farmers and to the country, and would work in co-operation with local authorities in the full administration of the law which provided measures for dealing with depredations of dogs among stock. ‘‘Much can be done in the work by the owners of dogs,” said the Minister. “As the Minister responsible for the Dogs Registration Act, I make a sincere appeal to owners to keep the movements of their dogs under the strictest restraint. It is a sad spectacle for the sheepfarmer, whether in a large or a small way, to find as he makes an early morning stroll over his paddocks, as several have done lately, that 30 to 40 sheep have been killed by the wandering, lustful dog completely out of hand. Struggling Fanners’ Loss. “Near the Bay of Plenty recently a man showed me the sad sight of some 60 sheep of his, all killed by the stray dog. The carcases of the sheep were huddled together in the corner of a paddock and dealt with there by tne worrying dog. The man, too, was a small, struggling farmer whose loss could not be over-estimated.” 'The Minister said a splendid work had been done by the police in many districts in efforts to put down the dog menace. “I am bringing specially to the notice of my colleague in charge of the Police Department,” Mr. Parry added, “the representations of the deputation. I feel lam not appealing in vain to dog-owners, in view of the serious complaints now made, to help their hardest to keep the movements of their dogs in check.”