Guernsey Police believe that several dogs could have been responsible for the killings and have launched an investigation into the attacks.
Farmer Stefan Yerby (19) had to put down one of his lambs after finding it badly injured in a field in the parish of St Saviour’s. ‘I looked all around the field and finally found it in the corner suffocating on its own blood,’ he said.
Mr Yerby, who has been keeping sheep since he was 12 years old, said that the lamb had to be put down immediately. It was the second time one of his lambs has been attacked this month.
‘I lost another one on 12 June, which means a £300 loss for me,’ he added. ‘The situation is upsetting, and it’s damaging from a financial point of view. Of course there are casualties in farming, but it is not usually from an attack by another animal, especially in Guernsey.
‘Our lambs and sheep are not just numbers – when they are slaughtered it is done humanely, not a lamb left to suffocate on its own blood. Not only are they my livelihood, they are my life.’
Islander Dave du Jardin lost 15 chickens when a total of about 60 were killed in the parish of St Andrew’s.
‘I keep my chickens in a pen with double fencing,’ said Mr du Jardin. ‘The dog or dogs burrowed right underneath and the poor chickens had nowhere to go. It was a massacre. Nobody’s birds are safe.’
Guernsey police have now urged people who keep livestock to ensure that they are in a secure environment.
A BLUE Islands flight from Guernsey to Southampton was forced to circle above the UK airport this week after an unmanned drone was detected in the area.
Flight arrivals were suspended after the unidentified drone was seen, and the Hampshire police helicopter was called out to scan the area.
A spokesman from Southampton Airport said that the incident, which took place at 6 pm on Sunday, caused short-term disruption.
The runway reopened about an hour after the drone was detected. It is not thought that the craft was found.
Gus Paterson, director of civil aviation in the Channel Islands, said that drones posed a serious risk to aircraft. ‘A drone could easily be ingested into an aircraft’s engine with serious consequences,’ he said. ‘Even if there is a benign collision, the drone will inevitably fall to earth in an uncontrolled manner and pose a risk to people on the ground.’
Carol flies in for practice
TV personality and light aircraft pilot Carol Vorderman touched down in Guernsey and Alderney this week as she practised runway approaches to prepare for her attempt to circumnavigate the globe single-handedly. Ms Vorderman, who gained her pilot’s licence 18 months ago, visited the two islands on Wednesday after, as previously reported, visiting Jersey the day before. In Alderney, she said: ‘The whole of the Channel Islands is a fantastic environment for training, because when flying times are so short you have to be really on the ball. I had heard of Alderney because I had been to Jersey and Guernsey, but it is the first time I have been here. It is beautiful and very cute.’
THE sea-bed of the Little Russel – the channel between Guernsey and Herm – has hardly changed during the last 50 years, according to the results of a recent survey. HMS Gleaner, the navy’s smallest commissioned ship, has spent the last five weeks scanning the bed with two specialist sonar devices. Lt-Cdr Adam Coles, who led the nine-strong crew, said that although the tidal currents had gauged channels in the sandy sea-bed, the main features had changed little. The crew worked six days a week and only lost two days at sea because of bad weather.
Alderney seeks inquiry into probe on doctor
THE States of Alderney have written to Guernsey’s Chief Minister to demand an independent inquiry into the handling of the case of a doctor who was suspended following four suspicious deaths.
Earlier this year Dr Rory Lyons was suspended after Guernsey police raided his surgery following concerns over the deaths. The police investigation was launched after the force was contacted by Guernsey’s Health Department, which runs Alderney’s health service.
The investigation was dropped last month after the police found no evidence of criminality. Now Alderney’s politicians have written to Chief Minister Jonathan Le Tocq, saying that the events ‘have dented the trust’ residents have in the department.
Policy and Finance Committee chairman Neil Harvey said that there was currently ‘considerable disquiet’ about the department’s decision to involve the police – the first time in at least the last five years that the department has handed an inquiry about a clinician to the police.
‘It was strongly and unanimously felt that only an independent inquiry into the processes and procedures followed by the department would establish the facts, particularly as much of the evidence is likely to include confidential patient records, and the Members resolved to call for such an inquiry,’ added Mr Harvey.
‘It is essential that the people of Alderney can have confidence and trust in those who have responsibility for delivering health services in the island. Recent events, as yet not properly explained, have severely dented that trust and we believe that only an independent inquiry will restore confidence in the system.’
