SHEEP STEALING ALLEGED

Evening Star, Issue 22086, 20 July 1935, Page 20

SHEEP STEALING ALLEGED

CHARGES AGAINST BIG RUNHOLDERS [Per United Press Association.] GORE, July 20. A case of considerable interest was concluded before Mr W. H. Freeman in the Gore Magistrate’s Court last evening when John Slater Shaw, James Slater Shaw, and John George Shaw, extensive runholders at Balfour and Mandeville, were proceeded against on 65 informations alleging sheep stealing, and breaches of the Stock Act, The evidence for the informants alleged that the accused during 'the past three seasons had carried out a practice of marking and tailing all lambs found on their property, irrespective of whether they belonged to neighbours or themselves. The lambs were tailed and earmarked with their brand, and the wool appropriated and sold as their own. Sheep had also been turned out in paddocks to feed with their own flock, some branded and some not, but none of the earmarks interfered with. The discovery originated in a - surprise visit paid by Parsons, a neighbour, who bad gone to the yards while shearing was in-progress. He later saw John Slater Shaw, sen., who said none of the Glenure sheep were among the sheep yarded. As the result of a subsequent muster 121 sheep wore found, which belonged to neighbours, some shorn and some not. These were taken by the owners, who claimed the value of the fleeces and the lambs which must have been running with the wet ewes. The claims were paid by accused. The practice of fanners was to put aside all stragglers with lambs found in flocks, but what the accused had done was to tail and earmark . all of them. They thus lost their identity and their value. It was further alleged that in a statement to the police one accused said his father told him to shear _ all stragglers, as the neighbours did likewise. , , i Evidence for the accused showed that, due to the unusually dry season, there wore more stragglers last year than was customary. Accused ran 8.000 sheep, and the stragglers formed a very small percentage. It was not the practice of district farmers to advise neighbours when they intended to shear. When shearing did occur stragglers were put on one side and returned to the owners. Accused had no intention to steal. The muster was forced on the accused during the middle of shearing, before they had the opportunity to return stragglers. All shorn and unbranded sheen were retained in a paddock on the home farm, to be returned at the first opportunity. The magistrate reserved judgment. On further charges of having shorn stray sheep and failing legibly to brand the same on the head with a registered brand, pleas of guilty were entered. The penalty was reserved.