Twenty sheep dead, 10 ailing after dog attack

A Kaikoura farmer is reeling at the discovery of what he describes as a "horrendous mess" on his property after a dog attacked his sheep.

Tony Blunt, who has farmed on the Inland Road for many years, said the attack was by far the worst he had seen.

He said that of the 30 sheep attacked, eight had been killed and he had been forced to put down a further 12. It remained to be seen whether the rest would survive after he had given them a shot of antibiotics for their injuries.

"That's a bloody hell of a lot," he said. "You'd normally discover them in ones and twos and then get on to the dog."

Mr Blunt was first alerted to the scene when he heard a "funny bark" early on Sunday morning.

"I raced over there and all the lambs were squished up like they had been bulldozed. The dog had obviously taken off."

Despite his best efforts to find the dog, he could not locate it. He found another lamb further up the riverbed on his Steepdown Farm property and from there saw the tracks of the dog, which he believes was of a medium size.

Returning to his flock, he pulled out the animals he believed were treatable, which was only about half of those attacked. Many were torn to pieces.

Mr Blunt still had not sighted the dog yesterday afternoon, although he and neighbours were obviously keeping a good eye out for it.

He had had only two other incidents involving dogs in his time at the farm. One sheep was found attacked a few months ago, but he believed the dog responsible had left the district. The other incident was 35 years ago, when two dogs were worrying sheep in the area. On that occasion, neighbours managed to catch up with the dogs responsible and only a couple of sheep were harmed.

Mr Blunt has been on the farm all his life. It was first farmed by his grandfather.

He put the cost of the weekend's damage at about $3500. Individual sheep normally fetched about $108.

Kaikoura police are appealing for anyone with any information about the attack, or owners who have lost a dog recently, to come forward.

- The Marlborough Express

Newest First

Oldest First