SCABBY SHEEP.

Colonist, Volume XXVII, Issue 3880, 29 March 1884, Page 3

SCABBY SHEEP.

■ -:"' - ,A REMARKABLE .OABK.: , ' That some one has failed to perform his duties, the following particulars, which we were only able to substantiate yesterday, will prove conclusively'; and whilst it may be difficult for those who suffer pecuniarily to obtain redress, still it is necessary that an enquiry be held, and steps taken to prevent such a thing occurring again. About .ten days ago a mob of some 660 sheep were driven from the Marlborough Provincial District, DyJwa,y of Rai Valley into the Nelson District, and the , flock, after passing through Happy; ; Valley, Suburban North, the City, and Stoke, arrived at Richmondon the 19th inst. A clean certificate was obtained for the sheep in '■ the adjoining Province, and it seems that the sheep were seen by a Sub-Inspector on, their coming into Nelson, and were likewise passed by him. r When they were put in the stockyards at Richmond, however, Mr Edward-Price, the Chief Inspector for the district, happened to be in the neighborhood, and he went to look at the sheep, when he at once detected twenty scabby sheep, and later on many more, and thereupon he took the necessary steps to avoid infection. Unfortunately a considerable number of sheep had been lost from the mob as it was being driven, and we believe that some sixty sheep are.still unaccounted for. We learn that some scabby sheep were caught in the Happy Valley district yesterday and at once killed, and from all j that is stated it is almost positive that several settlers in that locality will lose their clean certificates in consequence of some of these scabby sheep having got amongst their flocks. It was a mere chance that the whole of the mob was not sold, and the sheep distributed all over the district; and had that taken place the work of years in eradicating the scab would have been upset in a day, .but as it is the case stands black enough to those who will be unable to sell any sheep this autumn in consequence of losing their certificates, and through no fault of their own. Besides this, we understood that the road via the Rai Valley will be closed for sheep driving.