community,

This letter is further to my previous letter (Dec 12, 2018) regarding a multiple dog attack on our sheep on 21 November in which eight sheep were left dead and we had to put another one down. Eleven other sheep had to be treated for bites, scratches and tears. Our property is on North Bank Road, walking distance to the Providore, and next door to residential properties. It is now nearly two months later and we have had two more attacks by dogs and with each attack a ewe has been killed. During this time we have sighted two dogs on our property during the day – out on their own. Let me reiterate, when a wild dog attacks it eats the carcass. When a domestic dog attacks it just kills for the sport. All our sheep have succumbed to domestic dogs. They have been chased and when they get tired the dog attacks and leaves teeth marks and scratches ... the sheep will then run again and when they get tired again the dog attacks again leaving more teeth marks and scratches and this process goes on until the poor sheep cannot fight any more. People in Kalang have said that they used to go out walking along Kalang Road for their morning exercise but have stopped because of the number of domestic dogs roaming the road and they were afraid of being bitten. This shows me that the problem of wandering, unleashed dogs around the Bellingen township is something that needs to be rectified. Once again, it is illegal for an owner of a dog to allow their pet to wander the streets and it is the law that all dogs must be properly secured. One of the biggest problems is the dog’s owners. We have all heard time and time again “it’s not our dog ...” or simply the owners don’t give a damn and don’t care. Well ... I think it is about time that they are made to care. If you own a dog ... then for goodness sake ... DO THE RIGHT AND LAWFUL THING ... KEEP IT SECURE! If you cannot do this THEN YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE A DOG. Council – open your eyes, stop burying your heads in the sand ... we don’t want dogs out on their own ... do your job ... let’s make this a safe environment for everyone – including our farm animals. In conclusion we have decided to not keep any sheep any more as we can’t bear the thought that we are just serving up poor defenceless sheep to the sport of dogs that shouldn’t be out in the first place. If you are the owner of a dog that is not properly secured then the slaughter of farm animals lies at your feet ... you own a dog, you are responsible for it’s actions. PS: We have sold or given away all our sheep since our 21 November attack and were left with three ewes and our prized ram (Rodney) to relocate. The night before last (10 Jan) we had another dog attack and lost one of the remaining ewes. Last night (11 Jan) Rodney was killed by domestic dogs. We had these last few sheep penned up in a small paddock near the house and this morning this paddock looked like a tornedo had gone through it with fences down and gate posts bent. Rodney had sure put up the fight of his life … unfortunately he wasn’t successful. We have now got only two ewes left and today’s task will be to relocate these as tomorrow they will probably be dead. A big thank you must go out to dog owners who do the right thing and keep their pets secure. To the others of you who seem to think it is OK for your dog to roam – I hope karma gets you! Taking care of pets in the heat Some cool stories from Antarctica

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Let's make sure dogs don't roam