A household woke as much as discover their pet sheep had all been killed, allegedly by roaming dogs. Photo / Glenn Taylor
A rural Whangārei household was left reeling after they woke to seek out their their six beloved pet sheep had been killed.
The Maungatapere household suspects the sheep have been attacked by roaming dogs. This is the latest such attack, in accordance with Whangārei District Council.
The household made the grisly discovery on Tuesday morning and the proprietor, who requested that the household not be recognized, mentioned the ordeal was a traumatic one.
“We had the sheep for a very long time; the oldest one was 12 years old. We had them all since they were lambs.”
She mentioned the attack should have occurred at night time. The sheep – Zoey, Sonny, Cookie, Ben, Phoebe and the youngest, Joey – have been all killed.
“We feel very guilty that we didn’t hear it when it happened. We were all asleep, and so was our dog.”
She mentioned the sheep have been a part of their household, like some other pet.
“People think, ‘It’s just sheep’, but they are friendly and good pets. They have a good long life and would most likely have been with us after the kids left for university.”
She mentioned she wished others residing in rural areas have to be conscious as the problem of roaming dogs was an ongoing one.
“Our animals paid the price for someone else’s stupidity. We moved here five years ago, and we have never experienced anything like this. We told the neighbours, and they were shocked and are on alert.”
Despite her frustration, unhappiness and anger, the proprietor mentioned she would hate for somebody’s dogs to be put down following incident.
She mentioned she understood dogs roaming round, particularly at night time, was a part of residing within the nation, “but this was unnecessary.”
Animal administration officer Clinten Crause, who attended the scene, mentioned such incidents have been changing into too acquainted.
“We deal with a few sheep attacks. There have been a few attacks in the past two months. It is becoming more of a problem. I have seen more posts on Facebook about some incidents as well.”
Crause mentioned the council would make the ultimate choice relating to what occurs to the dogs.
“No dogs are supposed to be roaming on properties. You could be issued a fine.”
Council well being and bylaws supervisor Reiner Mussle mentioned they have been conscious of the incident and have been investigating.
“This is the most recent sheep attack incident reported in Whangārei. 72 attacks have been reported [to date], 37 involving animals, of which five involved stock.”
Mussle reaffirmed that canine house owners should guarantee they’re contained on their very own properties always, and never doing so is punishable underneath Section 52 and Section 52A of the Dog Control Act 1996.
“Every person that commits an offence is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $3000 [for those] who fail to comply, or $200 [for an] infringement.”
He added that enquiries into the attack can be persevering with.
