STEER KILLED IN BACKYARD

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 225, 20 June 1944, Page 4

STEER KILLED IN BACKYARD

Leaps Fences And Hedge SEQUEL TO STAMPEDE IN CITY STREET A chain of exciting events, which began with an impromptu rodeo in Willis Street, Wellington, on Sunday morning, ended yesterday afternoon with the shooting of an infuriated steer in a tiny Newtown backyard, when the carease had to be cut up for removal.

Forty-four 2Ly ear-old Polled Angus steers, which bad been bred at Hupps Valley Station and had never been on the road before, were being driven to the Wellington railway yards on Sunday. When the mob, which had been giving trouble earlier in the .journey reached the intersection of Willis Street and Vivian Street they broke back in the direction from which they had come. Strung out over about 400 yards, they stampeded at full speed up the street and the drovers were able to stop them and round them up only after they had got into Brooklyn Road. Two were not rounded up, but one was found at Happy Valley Station when the men returned home after finishing their task. The other missing beast was lost till yesterday. Where it spent Sunday afternoon and Sunday night is not known, but it was seen in Brooklyn on Sunday. It may have spent the night walking the streets or it may have found accommodation in a reserve or vacant section in Mornington. About 7 a.m. yesterday it appeared in Hanson Street and, apparently frightened by traffic, jumped over the fence of a house, ran down a passage between houses into the backyard and jumped over another fence and a hedge into the backyard of Mr. G. Dunn, 152 Hanson Street. Though in a highly nervous state it remained in the 20ft. by 20ft. yard. Mr. Dunn endeavoured to prevent anybody from exciting it further, though few of the townspeople about had any . desire to go near it. In the meantime the help of the police was sought. About midday Mr. W. F. Dorman, of Happy Valley Station, arrived and, the beast being found to be in an uncontrollable condition, it was shot. The earcase was skinned in the yard, cut up and carted back to the station. Mr. Dorman said that it was most fortunate that the animal, being so wild, had not jumped the fence and caused more trouble. • Mr. Dunn’s little garden was destroyed.