Ewe in theft case

ON Thursday night, rustlers broke into a property on the Gatton-Laidley Road and stole a prized sheep that was about to give birth.

The owners of the property, Wendy Holmes and George Melano, said they last saw the sheep at 7pm on Thursday night when Mr Melano went to feed the Suffolk ewe.

“It just disappeared from the paddock and it was on the point of lambing,” Mr Melano said.

“I noticed the chain had been put in a different position and a gate had broken the next day.”

The couple live up the road and have been trying to get approval to build on the property for the past three years.

“If we'd been given council approval to build our house here, we would have been living here now and it wouldn't have happened,” he said.

Detective Senior Constable, Troy Whittle, of the Forest Hill Stock and Rural Crime Investigation Squad said the sheep was a prized specimen.

“It is a black-faced Suffolk ewe worth about $1000 and is registered with the Australian Stud Sheep Breeders Association (ASSBA),” he said.

“The couple were victims of rustling as well as dog attacks.

“The Forest Hill stock squad has been dealing with this again and this is the first incident that has been reported in the area since we have been up and running.”

Mr Melano believes people came onto the property in a ute and stole the sheep.

“The community can overlook this, but if people stole thousands of dollars in your house you would be angry,” he said. “You get to know your flock well – it was only when I sorted them that I realised one was missing.”

The couple also run the local Helidon cattle dip.

“We do work the stock inspectors used to do and some university students use the rams on our property for training.”

Mr Melano first started breeding Romney and Suffolk sheep in the late 1960s and has been in the region for nearly two decades.

He is responsible for starting the sheep section at the Gatton Show.

If anyone has any information about the theft, contact Forest Hill Stock and Rural Crime Investigation Squad on 5465 4200 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.