Gate warning from pastoral manager after string of cattle deaths

Visitors to stations are being urged to open their eyes after a string of dead cattle were found over several weeks on a Pilbara pastoral lease as a result of gates being left open.

Karratha Station manager Dave Rutherford reported he had lost six cows to trucks and trains in the past month, some of which had to be put down after being found alive but in pain.

“(Putting animals down) is a part of the job we have to do, but it’s not pleasant,” he said.

“When you find them and they’ve been lying there in pain all smashed up and twisted for hours it’s not nice.”

Frustratingly, one of the gates left open has highly visible signs informing visitors to call before entering and to close gates when accessing the property.

“I don’t know what else you can do, put a person standing on each gate?” he said.

“I don’t think it’s a high percentage of people doing it but it does happen fairly regularly.”

Last year several pastoralists along the North West Coastal Highway spoke to thePilbara News about problems with gates being left open and fences being destroyed.

Mundabullangana Station manager Michael Thompson locked the gate to Boodarie Station along the south side of the Turner River in response to these issues.

Mr Thompson said locking the gate had helped, but not solved, problems associated with rubbish, trespass and shooting.

“It has helped curtail the rubbish but has also probably restricted a lot of innocent people who go to Munda and Boodarie Stations and do the right thing which does sadden me,” he said.

“For them I really do feel sorry, but it has definitely helped Munda and Boodarie.”

The complaints come as Greens Member for Mining and Pastoral Robin Chapple ramps up criticism of the State Government’s alleged inability to reduce straying livestock on northern highways.

Mr Chapple said an advisory group set up to manage straying livestock had so far failed to alleviate the issue.

Ngarluma Aboriginal Corporation, which runs Karratha Station and the adjacent Mount Welcome Station, failed to respond by time of print.