THREE horses on the road at Wallaga Lake Road at Bermagui south of the Cobargo Road intersection on Thursday morning resulted in 17 calls from concerned people to the NSW police radio network controller in Warilla.
Bega Valley Shire Council ranger John Flanagan attended and later spoke to the person in charge of the three horses.
“I made some inquiries and later spoke to a person who was in control of the horses at the time,” he said.
“It was established the horses had escaped from a nearby property.”
No penalty infringement notices were issued on this occasion, as there was no history of the horses being left unattended previously nor had any previous cautions been issued, however the person concerned has been issued with a formal written caution about the event.
“Horse and stock owners have a particular responsibility to the travelling public as the consequences of hitting stock or a horse can be dire,” Mr Flanagan said.
“I have personally known instances where people have been killed in accidents hitting large animals on the road.
Stock owners also need to be mindful that if there is an accident they may have a legal civil liability that could prove to be very costly financially.
I would encourage all stock owners to regularly inspect their fences and gates to ensure that their stock are not able to escape from their property.”
Rangers catch dog attacking sheep
More information has come to light from Bega council rangers, who have caught a dog believed to be responsible for attacking a number of sheep in the Coolagolite area.
The owner of the sheep witnessed a Staffordshire terrier dog attacking several of his sheep in a paddock recently.
Council rangers had been alerted that dogs had attacked sheep from several properties in the area over a period of several weeks prior to this most recent attack.
The rangers were able to quickly attend and captured a Staffordshire terrier dog running along an adjacent roadway to where the attack occurred.
Mr Flanagan, who investigated the attacks, said the dog was later positively identified by the sheep owner as being the dog he had earlier witnessed attacking his sheep.
The dog’ owner surrendered the dog which was later destroyed. The owner was also issued with a $550 penalty notice.
Mr Flanagan said it was really important that dog owners secure their dogs on their own property at all times.
"Dogs are only able to attack stock as a result of being able to escape from their own property in the first instance," he said.
"I urge property owners to ensure their dogs are contained in a secure manner and not able to leave the property."
He also encouraged stock owners who were experiencing stock losses to report them.
"We may be able to assist by setting dog traps and making other inquiries to identify dogs that may be involved.”
Council rangers also liaise closely with rangers from South East Livestock Health and Pest Authority in investigating stock losses where domestic dogs are suspected of being involved.
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