Ram dies after dog savages it

A Wairarapa SPCA inspector has called on the public to report dog attacks and injured animals after a sheep was viciously mauled by a dog.

A sheep was badly bitten by a dog at the new Masterton Motorplex dragstrip site, Masterton, during the weekend.

Wairarapa SPCA inspector Lesley Gibson said the incident was just one of many in the region. Mrs Gibson was called to the site by a father and son who had come across the sheep while biking.

She said the attack must have happened sometime on Saturday afternoon by a fairly large dog, judging by the freshness of the wound and the size of the bite mark. She said the sheep must have been chased to the site from a nearby paddock. As there was no vehicle access to the area it was unlikely to have been dumped.

"Whoever took their dog down there on Saturday and let it chase and catch a sheep, then left it there to die needs a rap over the knuckles," she said.

The sheep was taken to Chapel Street Vets where it was put down.

Mrs Gibson said as well as similar incidents involving sheep, there have been instances where people have been shooting birds. "Last time it was a majestic hawk, that the vet was unable to save," she said.

She said the incidents were "disgusting" and advised dog owners to keep an eye on their dogs at all times.

Masterton District Council spokesman Sam Rossiter-Stead said the council wasn't aware of this incident, but when contacted it would conduct an investigation to locate the offending animals and identify the owner.

Wairarapa police Sergeant Mike Sutton encouraged people to advise police of any similar incidents.

Masterton Motorplex co-ordinator Bob Wilton said it doesn't have sheep grazing on the land, so was unsure where the sheep might have come from.

Mrs Gibson said the owner of the ram could retrieve its carcass from the vet.