Bradford & District | Archive | 2001 | March | 14
From the Telegraph & Argus, first published Wednesday 14th Mar 2001.
A farmer whose sheep graze on Baildon Moor today blasted the walkers who are putting his livelihood at risk by ignoring pleas to stay away. As thick smoke from burning carcasses continued to rise above Bobby Green Farm in Queensbury, pictured, Brian Gill, who has between 700 and 800 sheep on the moor, says installing a cattle grid and fencing in the Shipley Glen area is the only way to solve the perennial problem of animals roaming off the moor and into residential areas.
Mr Gill, of Hope Farm, said: "The Council has closed all the car parks, put signs up and you can be fined up to £5,000 if you're caught walking on the moor or Shipley Glen.
"I saw a man walking his dog on the moor and people are still parking at the side of the road and walking their dogs on Shipley Glen every day.
"Some people just don't seem to be bothered - some signs have even been removed.
"Luckily we haven't got foot-and-mouth but if we did these people would be spreading it and they could be bringing it with them.
"It's putting our livelihoods at risk but some people just don't seem to care.
"It's very selfish and irresponsible and all we can do is appeal to their commonsense and ask them to keep away.''
Mr Gill said they were worried about the outbreak at Queensbury: "It's not that far away and they say it can travel 20 miles by air so we're just keeping our fingers crossed that this is all over as soon as possible.''
People living in the Lucy Hall Drive area of Baildon have complained that sheep wandering off the moor and into their gardens could increase the risk of contamination.
But Mr Gill said the sheep had a right to be on the moor, which is common land on which he has grazing rights, adding that he had been advised by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) that moving the animals would pose a greater risk of contamination than leaving them on the moor.
He said: "The only way to stop them coming off the moor and glen would be to put in a cattle grid and some fencing.''
Upper Baildon's beat manager PC Ian Hemsworth said: "We're getting at least half-a-dozen calls a day to Shipley police station from people complaining about the sheep but it's common land - the sheep are allowed to graze on the moor and it's up to people in the area to fence against common land."
© Newsquest Media Group 2008