By Derek Schlennstedt
A pack of vicious dogs has mauled a flock of sheep in The Patch, killing 22.
Of a 36-strong flock of dorper sheep, 11 were found dead and another 11 had to be put down due to the severity of their injuries.
For many locals, the attack has brought back memories of previous incidents.
The Patch is a known area for dog attacks.
In early 2016, one goat was killed, while in the same month another 10 sheep were mauled.
Peter Quinn, owner of the sheep that were attacked, said he awoke in the early hours of Tuesday 26 September to calls from his neighbour that a fox had gotten one of his lambs.
It was only upon going into his paddock that he saw the “utter devastation”.
“I went down in the morning to feed another lamb whose mother had died and to see about the fox and I looked down and there’s sheep everywhere,” he said.
“They were all covered in mud.”
Peter, who is colour blind, mistook the blood-covered sheep for mud and it was only on taking a closer look that he noticed that many of his sheep were severely injured.
“There were two stuck in the fences, another was injured with her ear all gone and I had to put her down … some of the lambs had been ripped apart … it was just morbid,” he said.
“As far as I can tell, they herded them into the dam and ripped them apart in there … they must have torn one of the sheep’s udder open, because the dam was full of milk.
“I realised quickly that I had a massacre on my hands.”
The attack has devastated Peter and the community on George’s Road, with neighbours only metres away having experienced similar attacks two years before.
Annette Moore, whose sheep were set upon by dogs in September 2015, said she would be taking extra precautions with her sheep after the latest attack.
“Peter is devastated and so are we, because it brought back all the memories of our last experience,” Annette said.
“We didn’t leave our property for 33 days last year because we didn’t think they were going to be safe … we’re going to have to lock ours up and we’ll always be fearful that the dogs may come back.”
A domestic dog was identified as the culprit for the 2015 attack, but Monbulk police are unsure if the recent attack was due to wild or domestic dogs.
Senior Constable Mark Lancaster said in the previous 12 months, there had been no known cases of wild dog attacks.
He aid it was the responsibility of all dog owners to ensure their dogs were secured at night.
“There haven’t been any cases in the last 12 months, not that we are aware of … the owners of all dogs have a responsibility to keep them secure at night.”
Peter and Annette believe the offenders were domestic dogs.
“I think they are domestic dogs, half of our property is bush and we’ve never seen stray dogs in the 38 year we’ve lived here,” Annette said.
Peter said of his 36 dorper sheep, four ewes, two rams and eight lambs remain, with the lambs still requiring milk from their mothers.
“They’re all calling for milk, but there’s no mothers to feed them,” he said.
“I’m just numb; I don’t know what I’ll do.”
Anyone with information is urged to contact Monbulk police on 9756 6266.
