The Sydney Morning Herald, Jessie Davies, May 16, 2014
Farmer Stephen Knight, from Tannabah, Coonabarabran, with some of his Merino wethers that have been eating darling pea. Photo: The Land |
Hundreds of
sheep in the central west of NSW have died after eating a poisonous plant and
bashing their heads open "like heroin addicts".
Plague
proportions of darling pea have dealt another blow to farmers who suffered the
impacts of the bushfire in Coonabarabran last January.
The
endangered native pea, which usually exists in the area in small quantities,
has spread wildly following the bushfire, which burnt 54,000 hectares of the
Warrumbungle National Park and adjoining farms.
Stephen and
Louise Knight have lost 800 sheep to the noxious plant so far on their steep,
rocky property, Tannabah.
"We
counted 800 missing wethers at shearing time," Mrs Knight said.
"It
was just devastating they weren't there when we went to get them.
"The
fire was a distressing thing to have happen, we lost so many stock, fences,
pasture - and then for it to come back with a terrible noxious plant like this,
it's awful and very distressing."
Darling
pea, from the Swainsona species, is a stout-stemmed, erect plant with purple
pea-shaped flowers and long woolly pods.
The
Swainsona species contain a poison that is toxic to livestock. When grazed on
for extended periods of time, the plant's toxins build in the animals' systems
and affect their central nervous systems by attacking an enzyme involved in
metabolism.
North West
Local Land Services regional veterinarian Bob McKinnon said the stock became
addicted to the plant and displayed erratic behaviour "similar to that of
a drunk".
"They
lose weight to start with and then get staggery, the progression gets worse,
they get unco-ordinated and depressed, they don't know where their feet are and
they become recumbent and die that way," he said.
Other
symptoms the affected animals display include staring eyes, head pressing,
muscle tremors, walking with a paddling gait, high stepping, and dragging hind
legs.
Mrs Knight
said the symptoms were evident.
"They
just go to a post and bang their head on it till they crack their heads open;
it's like dealing with a thousand heroin addicts," she said.
With stock
in this condition, paddocks that once took the Knights six hours to muster now
take them days.
Unfortunately,
Mr McKinnon said there was no easy cure for the affected animals.
"The
cure is to get the animals off it," he said.
"Once
you take them off it they are no longer exposed to the substance that is
blocking the enzyme and the cells can then repair themselves.
"But
if they've been on it too long the damage has been done and it doesn't repair
to where it should be."
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Kryon Q&A
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Question: Dear Kryon,
the Canadian farmers have been hit hard with two cases of BSE, or Mad Cow
Disease, reported as coming from Alberta. This is a fatal disease that’s
scaring many people away from beef. Is Spirit trying to tell us to be
vegetarians? Why is this disease coming out now? Will beef ever be as safe to
eat as it was before?
Answer: As we’ve
discussed before, there isn’t enough fertile land on the planet to feed humanity
if you’re all vegetarian. In addition, we’ve told you that a balance is needed
for most Human biological systems that includes meat. Therefore, one of the
reasons for the existence of animals is for your sustenance, and they come here
for that. Animals are in service to humanity, and they do it in several ways.
(This has been channelled many times . . . the reasons for animals on the
planet.)
We’ve also
told you that in order for them to be healthy sustenance, they must be treated
with a higher consciousness than they are now or they’ll die. This is what
you’re seeing. This disease is one that’s here to draw attention to this issue,
not to force you to eat vegetables. It’s to bring the plight of the animals
into mainstream consciousness, and to eventually demand changes in the way
they’re treated.
Many of you
don’t wish to think about these precious creatures being sacrificed for your
sustenance, but remember, this is all part of the support for your life on the
planet. What you owe them is honor and dignity within the scope of creating
food for your lives. When you see these kinds of diseases, they exist to make
you stop and look at what you’re doing. If you don’t, these animals will
self-destruct on their own.
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