POISONED CHAFF

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19803, 19 May 1934, Page 22

POISONED CHAFF

CAUSE OF STOCK MORTALITY ON FARM. By Telegraph—Press Association CHRISTCHURCH, May 18. On April 6 five horses and three cows died suddenly on the farm of Mr G. W. Vesey at Tinwald. Investigations have been made by the Department of Agriculture, and, it is now accepted that the animals died from eating chaff which had been contaminated with a solution of arsenic, antimony and copper which was kept in a shed for use in the treatment of footrot. How the poison reached the chaff is not known. The chaff and solution were kept in the woolshed which had been used frequently by tramps and swaggers who had often to be ejected by Mr Vesey. It is considered that only by human agency could the poisonous solution have reached the chaff. The first fear of the officers sent to make investigations was that the animals had died from anthrax, but the symptoms indicated arsenic poisoning and an analysis of the stomach contents discovered the presence of arsenic. A bottle of footrot solution, also analysed, was found to contain arsenic. In the chaff found in the troughs from which the beasts were fed traces of arsenic were found. Only one bag of chaff was poisoned.