BY TOMMY MOYLES
A LOCAL farmer is devastated after 12 of his calves fell to their deaths off a cliff near his home. It has not yet been established how it happened, or whether dogs heard barking in the vicinity, may have played a part.
The Clonakilty farmer is also counting the financial cost of losing the dozen calves from his farm near Ardfield.
The horrific incident unfolded when the farmer was contacted by a neighbour on Friday afternoon to say that a number of calves appeared to be on the edge of a cliff and outside of the field they were grazing.
There were 20 Angus-cross and Hereford-cross calves in the group and by the time he got there, only four were left in the field. Seven more were just over a ditch in a corner on the seaward side of the field. The ditch was too high for them to climb back and when he went to investigate the whereabouts of the remaining nine calves, he saw their bodies on the rocks below.
The seven calves were stuck on a narrow ledge and unfortunately, a further three calves fell 50ft to their deaths off the precarious ledge before they could be rescued.
He immediately contacted some neighbours and a local Department of Agriculture official who arrived to assist. The matter was also reported to gardaí.
One of the farmers who helped recover the stranded calves said there is a ditch surrounding the field, but it drops down about 7ft or 8ft to a narrow ledge. That was wide enough for a calf to stand lengthways, but there was very little room for them to move behind, and so it was very difficult for them to get back up.
‘Fortunately, the calves were quiet, and with the help of a bit of ration we were able to hold them there and one came up,’ he said.
The other calves were unable to get over the ditch, so it was lowered, using a shovel, and about two hours later they managed to walk up.
The traumatised farmer said the fence in the corner of the field was knocked down and the bit behind the wire was all trampled. A neighbour living nearby had heard dogs barking throughout Thursday night and the farmer also said that in recent years he has encountered people walking through the land, even though it is private property.
‘My brother met people trying to walk through here Saturday morning afterwards, and I met a pair of tourists Sunday morning when I was checking the remaining calves. It’s not a public walkway, but it’s happening more often over the last few years, and it’s very frustrating.’
Speaking afterwards, the Department of Agriculture official said that there’s a strong possibility dogs were involved and members of the public need to ensure they have control of their dogs at all times when visiting areas where there are livestock.
