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28th April 2006

The sheep keeping fraternity and the people of Durness are utterly appalled by the discovery of such carnage on the common grazing land adjacent to Port na Con on the Rispond Estate east of the village. As reported in last weeks Northern Times. In a gully on a remote hillside there are carcases and skeletal remains strewn over a wide area with several smaller deposits around. The marshy centre of the pit contains uncountable remains of animal slaughter.

The circumstances leading up to the discovery unfolded during the annual gathering bringing the flocks together for lambing. A local crofter stumbled across what appeared to be an unnatural situation of dead animas and on further investigation revealed the dumping grounds of massacred sheep. It was obvious that the animas were not all killed at the site but brought by various means.

The police were immediately notified and criminal investigations are still underway. Using metal detectors the area was closely examined and a number of  bullets were found. Veterinary officers on site diagnosed that several shots were fired into the animas mostly abdominal causing painful and drawn out deaths. Samples were taken for further tests. The community now abounds with stories of sheep disappearing over a long period of time without satisfactory explanation and the police are taking lengthy statements from anyone who has seen or heard anything that may have a connection to the crime.

Shepherding in such a large area and with the many large sheep farms and small crofters involved diminutive numbers of sheep are always unaccounted for at gathering times. Some dead are understandable and never found and the accumulation over a long period can be reasoned as natural losses. There is concern but positive hope that there is no more dumping grounds for dead animals and the culprits have kept their serial killing to this one locality. Crofters meantime are keeping a vigilant watch and scouring the mountainsides for signs of any further unnatural remains.