STARVING SHEEP

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 181, 18 August 1937, Page 5

STARVING SHEEP

Absent Owner Charged With Neglect NO C0NVICTI0N ENTERED s Beeause he felt that she wa's not the person responsible for tho cruelty, Mr J. Miller, W.M., refused to eouvict ireue Mary Ngata, married woman, of Hastings, when she appeared before him in the Hastings Magistrate's Court this morning charged with failing to supply 90 sheep, of which she was the owner, with proper and suffieient food. A plea of not guilty was entered for the defence by Mr W. E. Batc. Senior-Sergeant G. Sivyer condueted the case for the poliee. Constable R. H. Moss, of "Waipawa, said that when he visited the defendant's paddock'of about 18 acres he found that there was hardly any grass at all and the ground was filthy with sheep manure. There 90 live sheep in the paddock 20 were dead, three had no teeth, and four were cast. Those dead had ei-ther "broken" mouths or no teeth. When witness notified the .defendant 's father, Mr Ellison, he at once had them lemoved and the older ones destroyed. "He was very decent about the matter," witness said. There had been a week of bitterly cold weather which would be hard on the sheep. There were no signs of hay or any green fodder, but hay would havo" been useless to such old sheop. Constable E. C& T. Broadly corroborated the evidence of the previous witness. Mi Bato isaid that tho defendant lived in Hastings and had the use of tho paddock at Te Aute. Her parents, who were well-known farmers, lived about miles from tlie paddock. The sliepherd whose duty it ,was to look after the sheep had proyed unreliable and had sinco been dismissed. The family liad a reputation for looking after sheep well, added Mr Bate. The flock which Mrs Ngata had she had built up from pet lambs which she had had as a child. There was no intentioual cruelty. Defendant had no reason to suspect that the sheep might be suffering. Sbe Ead been away from tlie farm for two ycars, but the paddock had wintered sheep successfully for several years past. What had really "finished-off" the sheep, he contended, was their extreme age and the spell of cold weather. Defendant gave evidence along similar linois. She did not want to lrill her pet sheep, although they were old. Mr Miller: But it would be kinder to kill them than to starve them. Perey Adams, manager for Mr Kinross White 's station which adjoined the defendant 's paddock, said that he found that all the dead sheep were in a position which showed that they had taken shelter from the cold weather. Two had died in lambing. The land was good. The skeep wero in poor condition but not starved. Had they been younger animals with good teeth the amoant of feed on the pad.dock would have kept them alive. "Thero must liavo been too many sheep on the land — about 115 on an 18-acre paddock," observed Mr Miller. A. dry autumn and a isevere winter had caused heavier mortality than nsual but, notwithstanding this, there were too many sheep in the paddock, and a great number of these were so old as to be unable to eat what was there. However, he said, the person respousible had not been charged. Tho defendant could not he hcld responsible. The sheep were pets and she would seem to be the last person who would be likely to infliet cruelty to them. She hafl not wanted to Mll them cvcn when they wero too old to be of any use. Ifc was apparently tho sliepherd who was responsible. Tho oifcnce was a criminal oue for which a term of imprisopment was tho ponalty, but he would not, in ihe circumstances, jcnter a conviction.