Sheep not ill-treated, say stock men

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 11, Issue 533, 17 May 1994, Page 3

Sheep not ill-treated, say stock men

People who think sheep kept in the Raetihi and Makaranui holding paddocks are ill treated should take a closer look. That is the view of Waimarino Livestock proprietor Brian Chambers. He told the Bulletin this week there was a lot of talk about sheep being left in the Makaranui paddock, sometimes referred to as "Siberia", for up to a week without feed. "If those people took a decent look they would see that they are a different mob," he said. Mr Chambers said the stock buyer who uses the paddock often puts four different lots of sheep there during a week, and that it might appear that the same mob was left there all week. Mr Chambers also commented on the sheep that were in the Ranfurly Terrace/Valley Road holding paddock in Raetihi last week. A local farmer had called the Bulletin expressing concem that the sheep had been there too long without feed and newly shorn. Mr Chambers said they had arrived on the Wednesday and were loaded out on Friday morning. He said he helped load them and they were in good condition. "Sure, there was no feed by the time they left, but they galloped down the road (to be loaded onto a tmck at the saleyards) all right."

Mr Chambers said they would have looked "pretty sad" but that was because they were old culled ewes. He said they were not newly shom, that sheep destined for the works had to be shom three weeks before, and that they had to be emptied before being transported. Jamie Proude, stock buyer for Te Kuiti Meats, said he would rather not have had to put the sheep into the Raetihi holding paddock considering the weather on Thursday, but

that he had little choice. He said the sheep were on their way to Te Kuiti, but that the killing time booked was cancelled so he had to hold onto them for longer than normal. He said some people were too quick to jump to conclusions. "It's not my practice to ill-treat stock." He said in three years of buying, handling about 360,000 sheep per year, this was the first time he had had a complaint.