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SILENT SUFFERERS.

CATTLE AT THE WHARF.

THEIR HOURS OF MISERY.

"I don't Ihiuk I ever saw such cruelty in the handling of cattle," .-aid keed, it j |:ortin^ r upon a case to the Scciotv for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals yesterday .afternoon. Tho inspector went on to yay that recently ho hod been summoned ta the waterfront, where a consignment of bullocks was being shipped. When he arrived 011 tho wharf ho found a sorry sight. In one truck two beasts had fallen down (probably at a sudden stoppage), and in tile crush had been unable to regain their feet, <0 they had to lie where they were, while tho other cattle trampled on them. One had been pulled out of tho truck and lay panting, and evidently in extreme pain, on the wharf, lie formed tho opinion that it was paralysed in the hindquarters, and it lay thwo gasping—the centre of a crowd of idlers. Another beast was in even worse plight. It had also fallen in the truck, and its horns had become fixed between the bottom of the truck and the side. Ono could sec how it had struggled, but, onco down, it was never to get lip, nor ccuUl tho men handling tho cattlo help it up. Mr. Seed added that he could not (on his own mitiatirc) nut' tho beasts out of their misery. Bullocks were valuable, and before anything could be done specific authority was necessary. He went in seaTch of such authority, aud found Mr. Speed, a Justice of the Peace, willing and anxious to help. ■ "Disgraco to the Country." The matter was discussed by tho society, and, naturally enough, Mr. Seed was questioned as to who was responsible for the condition of the cattle. This, however, he was not prepared to state. In his opinion tho whole trouble lay in tho method adopted in Now Zealand of trucking and shipping cattlo. Sevenand eight bullocks were crowded, in. 110 gentle manner, into one truck, and nobody seemed to consider what happened to them should any ono of thorn get down. "It is a disgrace to this country," went on Mr. Seed, warming to tho subject. "There is no reason why trucks should not be provided in which the cattle are partitioned. lam a builder myself and know what I nm saying when I stato that it can bo done." Cattlo in Ship's Slings. Mr. So:d also censurcd the method of roping ciUtlo when shipping them. Hoisting them by a ropo round tho body was cruel, and in other civilised countries it ( was a thing of the past. v Tho discussion then, turned upon the question of the duty of the society, but as thero was 110 evidence there was. apparently 110 case at law. Somo of the members wsr? of opinion that a deputation to tho Government might benefit matters; others that the Department of R-ailwajs should be approached. This latter suggestion. was well received, and it was in view of a deputation, at some fdtura date, to tho General Manager of Railways, that the society was instructed to write to the branches of the' society ill Australia—in Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, and Adelaide—in order to obtain full 'information as to how cattle were hnnulod over there. On?, pregnant question was put to Mr. Seed by a member: Who informed you of the state of things at tho wharf —ono of the railway officials or ono of the men in charge? Mr. Seed: One of the general public. Tho Scene at the Wharf. Interviewed afterwards, Mr. Speed, J.P., fsiid that it had been a terrihlo affai". lie had arrived at the wharf'shortly alter ■t o'clock, and found matters just as the inspector had described them. lie at onco saw that the animals would have to bo destroyed, but first of all he had to formally sign an order to that effcet, and make easy the minds of tho Railway Department, and a'.so of those in charge of the cattlo. It was oloso upon an hour aftci he arrived on the wharf when this act ol morcy was carried out. Asked how long ho considered that the two beasts had been lying there, Sir. Speed en id that, as.far as lie knew, since about 10 o'clock that morning. Ho supposed that they had commenced to ship them after lunch. As far as ono could judge, they must have fallen in the early sijQges of tho train journey. Flogging of Horses Mr. Spoed was very emphatic about cruelty ,to animals in Wellington, and montioncd several other cases that had come under his notice recently. Regarding horses, he said that cruelty was a great deal more common than most people imagined. In particular, ho mentioned the crusltv that went 011 in a certain street, and considered that the police should be made cognisant of tho fact, in order that they might stop tlie flogging of horses. He instanced a. case where he had' seen the butt of the whip used, to pull a load exceeding what any horse should in reason he expected to pull.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19130730.2.113

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1815, 30 July 1913, Page 13

Word count
Tapeke kupu
850

SILENT SUFFERERS. Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1815, 30 July 1913, Page 13

SILENT SUFFERERS. Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1815, 30 July 1913, Page 13

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