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Re-curring animal control problem

By: Ruth_York

I am writing to inform you that there is a recurring problem with cattle being on the loose in Orrington. Over the last 8 years, since I moved to here, Herbert Henderson's cattle have been escaping from their horrendous conditions in their pasture through Mr. Henderson's "fencing" system. I use the term fencing loosely, as it consists of mostly fallen trees and pallets propped up against trees still standing. Recently, on Aug. 5th, my employer, a neighbor of one of these pastures, called twice to inform the sherriff department that the cattle were on the loose. Finally, the animal control officer showed up. We made a written complaint about the lastest occurance. My employer also asked about the cow that had just died that morning in the pasture, after being down for several days, with no medical attention supplied. We were told the carcass would be properly disposed of by the end of that day. As of this morning, it has not. It is still there, not much more than 100 feet from our new yard. It is starting to bloat and stink. I took some photos this morning, and am emailing them to you. As the town, sherriff department and our animal control officer seem to want to do little to correct this problem, I am hoping that perhaps you might consider doing a story on it. There is a history of neglect in regards to the cattle. Frequently, there will be one in distress, and even once there was one with a broken leg that was allowed to stay in the field for over a week. There is a stream that flows through one of the pastures, and the cattle frequently are deficating in it, and sometimes even laying in it until they can manage to get up out of the mud. It is a serious problem, as when the cattle are roaming, they are often in the road, and like to charge vehicles. Just last week, on the night of July 29, I called 911 to report a cow in the road that my husband very narrowly missed, after it charged our vehicle. As this particular one was a belted galloway, and was facing us at first, my husband never saw it until it turned. One of these days, someone will be severely hurt or killed because of these cows roaming freely. The sherriff dispatch seems to just take it as an every day occurance now. And there appears to be a lack of will to do anything about the problem. Maybe someone in your office will have better luck. If there is anything I can do to aid you if you do decide to do a story, I am at your disposal. While I enjoy a nice juicy steak with the best of people, the conditions of these cattle is horrendous, and the danger to the public is too severe.