MANY SHEEP WORRIED.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18771, 26 July 1924, Page 10

MANY SHEEP WORRIED.

DEPREDATIONS BY DOGS. ROTORUA FARI||iERS r LOSSES. MENACE TO INDUSTRY. The depredations bfjivagraat dogs among their flocks has been] causing grave con» cern to sheepfarmers jfrl the( Rotorua dis- I trict for some time An indication of the Serious extent jpf the dogs' is afforded by detailsj of the losses of individoal farmers published this week by the Boftorua Times. ■■■■-. Mr. 'Pethybridge, /whose farm is near Tikitere, lost in one/night 60 ewes killed just after lambing. -(Scores of motherless lambs died, and the ilock was/irreparably injured. The dogs "rißturned three times, but constant patrol wjas maintained. Eventually', one dog was sljiot and raids ceased. The dog had no owiiier, and the settler uo. redress. Mr. Smiijih, of Te Ngae, lost six wethers last 'February, one ewe in March, and six in May. Messrs. Carr Bros., whose faiim adjoins ..Te Ngae, lost uine fat lambs /last December and within three months ;;Bix fat show lambs "were< killed ■'/ , \ - , ■. On - July .12 dog 3 ikilled 22 two-tooth ewes, heavy in lamb,!and ten otheA were fatally injured. The; flock was scattered over the country and j:the damage will run into /hundreds of poiiinds. Messrs.: Chas. Gee Sons, four ■ Reasons ago lost 70 ewes just on lambing/ The owner of the dogs was suedj and judgment* obtained at ; a cost in law of £30!j Nothing ha 3 beien recovered. Recently 18 sheep were 'i killed and 18 more ttad to be destroyed. Further raids continued, and Mr. Gee sold out of sheep at n heavy loss. Though sheep are needed oh the pasture, the ;unxiety of'night patrols and risk has, he says, prevented hii|fi f rom restocking. Mr. G. Vaughan reports numerous cases. Dogs were caught worryingnDy Mr. Gee's patrol and were stop]ped after killing one ewe; the dogs escaped. At Mourea eight >' ewes were killed. Mr: /Vaughan says that he would be glad to pay £100 : .<a year to cover his losises by dogs. Sheep Eushed in Daylight. Mr. Thomas Dowling,; of the Wairoa , Road, states that in February last a flock of 200 ewes were raided, 25 killed, and many injured: In April, in broad daylight, he saw three dogs come out of the plantations 300 yards from his shed, and rush the sheep in his paddock. He seized his gun and ran to the spot. He , ahot one dog, but the other two escaped. , In March he detected two dogs worry- , ing and attacking sli eep. He fired but I missed. The dogs had no collars. In June ■•■his men saw three dogs attacking a valuable pedigree Southdown ewe. Two were holding and the other tearing her. ; The men shot one dog. Another was wounded, and the third got nearly away, but was hit by a rifle bullet and killed. ■None had'collars on. In the brief time they had almost completely torn the legs i off the ewe, which was carrying two lambs •" and valued at £20, i Mr. Arthur Hes lost 60 sheep in one night and 25 on another, besides numerous lesser numbers. On no occasion has he been able to obtain redress. Mr. Harry Pearce. whose land,is in the vicinity of Messrs. Bes and Dpivling," has also : had i heavy losses frpm the depredation of dogs, and also has had no recovery against ownere. All dogs killed have ■ had no i collars. At Meadowbrook, Mri H. E. Troutbeck's property, near Rotorua, have been three Cases of worrying since May. Recently 12 ewes were killed and great damage to the flock was caused . The dogs escaped. Dog Owner Awarded Damages. Mr. Butcher, of the Waiwtapu district, not only suffered very' severe! kiss in sheep but wa3 sued lay the Maoris for; five dogs that his employees shot. . The station handß were weak as to the identity of the dogs, the evidence showing 'there wero in the neighbourhood many dogs rnnning about untied. The dogs' owner secured a verdict for £40 and costs. Mr. Ewan Trontbeck. of Galatea station, has suffered very heavily,. a recentworrying: involving the loss of 70 sheep "and the scattering of 6000 hoggets., Tlie dogs were known and were shot with thi* owner's consent. The! owner of the dogs then sued for the sum of £20 and £25 for tho dogs shot. The ; Court held that permission to shoot them had been given and gave a verdict for the defendant. Mr. Troutbeck then sued for the value of the sheep killed, but judgment was given for the defendant, as it was impossible to prove that the dogs actually killed the sheep. The verdict carried heavy costs. The Rotorua Times says :■—-" The question of responsibility for all these collarless marauding dogs is one that must receive instant attention. The .position: is impossibly menacing to a vital industry and involves the progress of the whole Rotorua district."