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2010
31 August 2010
Stray sheep wreck Lue grave
Mid-Western Regional Council operations manager Brad Cam is appealing to neighbours of rural cemeteries to make sure boundary fences are capable of controlling their stock.
Mr Cam made the appeal after sheep damaged Lue Cemetery last month.
Local resident Cheryl Dryden visited the cemetery on Monday, August 9, four days after the late Jennifer Lillian Gardiner was laid to rest.
“I was disgusted when I visited the cemetery to find the fresh grave had been desecrated,” Mrs Dryden said.
“All the floral tributes had been scattered, the cross on the grave bearing Mrs Gardiner’s name had been knocked over and the grave trampled by animals.
“There has been a problem with sheep coming in for some time and I have been unable to get council to respond to my concerns.
“There is evidence on some of the tombstones of sheep droppings and ornaments have been knocked over.
“The fence-line also has evidence of where sheep are getting in from the adjoining property. You can see wool that has been caught up in the fence as they move back and forth.”
Mrs Dryden said on a number of occasions, she had seen up to 15 sheep in the cemetery.
On the day Ms Dryden noticed the damage to the Gardiner grave, she said she saw eight sheep leave the cemetery through a hole in the fence.
Mr Cam said boundary fences with cemeteries were no different to fences erected between any rural or urban property and council land.
“If you erect a fence along the common boundary with the footpath in front of your home, you are responsible for that fence, not Mid-Western Regional Council,” Mr Cam said.
“The same applies to farmers who have common boundaries with cemeteries.
“The farmer is responsible for maintaining his stock and ensuring his stock does not stray into the cemetery.”
Mr Cam said that there had been instances at other rural cemeteries where stock had damaged fences.
“As a matter of respect, I urge anyone with a common fence to a cemetery to ensure that it is in good enough repair to contain the stock within the correct perimeters of the owner’s property,” he said.
Mrs Dryden said that she regularly visited the cemetery to tend the graves of people close to her and had noticed the problem over a number of years.
“I have complained to council over this matter on a number of occasions but had never been able to get an answer as to who was responsible,” she said1 .