ABOUT THOSE DOGS

Manawatu Herald, Volume II, Issue 17, 21 October 1879, Page 2

ABOUT THOSE DOGS

TO THE EDITOR OF THE MANAWATU HERAtJ),

Sir— ln your last issue; appsara a letter signed " Fido," in which the writer endea. vow to show that the enforcement of the provisions of the Act for the registration of dogs will infli«t an injustice on porsons owning such animals. 1 think, Sir, " Fido " can scarcely have given the subject much consideration, or else he is very poorly acquainted with the faots. In the first place the discussion in the Council, of which their intonded action is the outcome, arose, not, as he states, because a few of Messrs Haloombe and Fox's sheep were destroyed, but because the evil has grown to an alarming extent all over the County ; the above gentlemen's looses being merely mentioned as illustrations of its magnitude. Coming to his wail about valnable dogs being seized in unsuspecting moments, I think the number of registered dogs that would be destroyed very small indeed. People who have valuable dogs, as a general rule, look after them, and would immediately notice if the badge were missing, but even if all the dogs were destroyed, a pu'olio benefit would be oonf erred if by their destruction the harassing and worrying to which Hheep are at present subjected to were averted. Take the respective values of the animals, and, placing to one side the benefit the sheepfarming interest does the country, consider them as so much marketable property. Suppose the total value of the dogs in Mana watu to be £500, which I think is infinitely more than their warmest admirers would care to give for them, and place in the opposite column the value of the sheep destroyed by them in the course of a year. I have not any data by me on which to form a correct estimate, but I may mention that not two months since I saw 12 sheep that had been worried by dogs, out of a flook of not more than 500. According to the letter from Mr Ward, upon whioh the disoussion in the Council was started, several sheep of the value of £2 per head had been destroyed on land near the Rangitikei River ; and if " Fido " would like to know a little more about the damage done in this way, let him speak to a few of the settlers owning aheap in the Awahou riding, on the

subject. I have not the slightest hesitation in saying that £500 wo"teld ntft nearly cover the loss sutained in this wdyiij«r year, for not only are those actually killeßßfce reckoned, but the damige done to thejj^> by being frightened and chased about amounts to something considerable. I quite agree* with *' Fido " that it is very annoying to have a valuable dog destroyed, but I think it infinitely more annoying to see sheep torn and worried by dogs, not once, perhaps, but going on as a sort of regular occurrence. A case Buch as he describes would no doubt press hard on a man ; but there is this much to be said : when a dog is allowed to roam about the streets, he is where he has no business to be, and in permitting him to ' wander a man ought to be prepared to suffer any loss arising therefrom. On the other hand, the sheepowaer keeps hie sheep on land which he has to pay for either in tho shape of rent or purchase money, hires shepherds to tend them, and in spite of all the care taken, has his property destroyed. Which is the greater hardship ? There is no doubt that more vigorous action will need to be taken in the collection of the tax, and I think the present fee is ample, but with the suggestion of " Fido," that the dog should be taken to a depot, and advertised before being destroyed, I must beg to differ, as I think it would only mean unnecessary expense. In the first place, to carry out the idea, a receiving place would have to be erected, provided either with a ohoico assortment of chains, or a number of kennels, as if they were put in a yard or building together, some of them would have their value very seriously deteriorated; food for three days would next have to be provided; a custodian would have to be appointed, the newspaper proprietors would hardly insert the notices for nothing and when the £5 penalty for nonregistration was added, the value of the dug would be so much increased that it would be impossible to find owners for them. I think, therefore, that the dogs might as well be destroyed first as last. 'In Auckland, and the other principal towne of „ the Colony, dogs found without badges are destroyed, and after a somewhat lengthy experience of the working of this law, I cannot call to mind a single instance of a valuable dog being lost through it. Shepherds own the majority of the dogs that can with any show of reason be culled valuable, and yet if their opinion were asked as to whether the Aot should be enforced, the result would be a very strong expression of approval. Jn conclusion, I may state that although no more interested in the sheep trade than in any other of the leading industries of the Colony, I shall be glad to see ' the Council at once vigorously enforce the Act, a^,l think that by that means alone can the present nuisance of sheepworryipg be put a stop to. I am, &o , Wool. Foxton, October 18.