Pubdate: Sat, 14 Nov 2015 Source: News, The (New Glasgow, CN NS) Copyright: 2015 Transcontinental Inc. Contact: http://www.ngnews.ca/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3343 Author: Adam MacInnis Page: 3 POT-DETECTING FLIGHT RATTLES SHEEP Farmer, concerned about flock's health, says policy needed Cyril O'Connor walks up to the fence on his Piedmont Valley Road property and gives a holler. Within seconds about 30 sheep are running to meet him. A sheep knows the shepherd's voice, O'Connor says. And he knows his sheep. O'Connor does a lot to protect the sheep he's built this connection with. In addition to secure fences, he has two dogs that protect the sheep from predators such as coyotes. But an incident that happened this summer has him worried about the health of his flock. On Aug. 31 a helicopter flew over his property in search of marijuana. They found some in the woods near the pasture his sheep were in. O'Connor and about half a dozen other people were in the house at the time and couldn't miss when the helicopter went over. "They flew low enough that over the top of the helicopter I could see the trees," he said. "They were lower than the trees were. They were only 10 or 15 feet above the sheep." The sheep, which are by nature timid animals, immediately panicked and started running in the pasture which is about 1,500 feet wide. "I don't imagine they came all this way to chase the sheep, but they chased them all the way over as far as the sheep could go and then they chased them all the way back," O'Connor said. The dog, as it is trained to do when it senses something dangerous, then led the sheep into the night pasture. About a week later one lamb died and within a month three others died. O'Connor can't help but wonder if the incidents are connected. "Whether they got hurt in the running or they died from something else, I don't know," O'Connor said. "But I do know it didn't do them any good." Asked about the incident, RCMP media relations officer Mark Skinner was able to confirm that there was an operation underway that day to look for marijuana including the RCMP and the Department of National Defence, which provided a helicopter. He said they did search in the area of O'Connor's property, but once the sheep were spotted the helicopter left the area. "Obviously we don't want to scare or frighten any animals," Skinner said. No charges were laid against O'Connor over the marijuana found on his property. He said someone else must have planted it there without his knowledge. Still he has no problem with the fact that the RCMP were looking for marijuana in the area. He just believes that there should be a policy in place that prevents livestock being chased in situations like this. Skinner said that pilots already do their best to avoid frightening animals. Because of the high-strung nature of sheep, O'Connor worries his problems might not be over yet. He's heard that sheep that have been frightened badly may have complications getting pregnant or miscarry due to the stress. He puts about $6,000 worth of expenses into the sheep, so if the number of lambs born in the spring is fewer than normal it could have a major financial impact. O'Connor said he expressed his frustration when the RCMP arrived at the scene and later called to make a complaint. He said he did receive an apology from an officer who was very nice. "He said it shouldn't have happened and he'd see to it that it never happened again." But O'Connor worries it could. Skinner confirmed a local RCMP member did talk with O'Connor and the officer thought the issue was resolved. From what O'Connor has heard, the technology used to do detect marijuana doesn't require the plane or helicopter to be low. Skinner said it really depends on the situation how low a helicopter would fly. In many cases it can be quite low, he said. In the future O'Connor said if an area involves a place with livestock, they should either fly high enough to not scare the animals or inform the property owner so they can put their animals somewhere safe. "One of them could have come and told me and I would have put the sheep in the barn." - --- MAP posted-by: Matt