Re: I've gotta kill that @#$% Fox!!!
Foxes...............Ok well listen to this.
I spent 25 years of my life managing a 350 Farm/Park carrying 1000 Breeding ewes (Romney) and in latter years founded and managed a stud herd of 65 Simmental cows.
During my time I have shot over 100 dogs mainly German Shepherds of crossbred dogs that would come into the park from the surrounding urban areas and worry the sheep.These attacks would occur mainly on the early hours of the morning , usually two dogs. The worst case was 160 dead sheep over a space of 11 days before I eventually was fortunate enough to be there at the right time right place to use buckshot on them. They were wolflike in behaviour, very cunning. I would wait up every night after attacks, sometimes never managing to get the culprits. These dogs were peoples pets. They had no idea what they got up to or where they got to.It went on and on for years, until Dog Control laws became tighter and I changed the sheep breed to perendales, a NZ breed that were more mobile, and introduced breeding cows that absolutely hate dogs. My nickname for years was wolfhunter and became a very unliked person among the public as I had very little tolerance for dogs off a lead within the paddocked areas. And of course the people whose dogs I mananged to trace beacme very ****. Often the dogs had no registration collars were in disbelief that it was their dogs that would do the damage,until I would get them to come up to my woolshed where i would pile up the sheep with their dead dogs lying along beside them.
The dogs as I said would worry the sheep. perhaps kill 20 -30% of them and leave the rest with wounds around the neck front and back legs. I would simply cut their throats and put them out of their misery. Yes over the years I fixed a lot up with penicillin and Stockholm tar, but they were also a bad look in Aucklands most awesome park.
I operate machinery and tractors now,and no longer am awoken at ungodly hours by those dogs.
The wolves that have taken a strong hold on Yellowstone National Park have interested me for years and have often shook my head when ranchers were complaining of losing a few head of cattle.
