Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1890-08-28
STARVED AND FROZEN LIVE STOCK.
How Two Legged Brutes Treat Four
Legged Ones.

A correspondent of Bradstreets calls
attention to the official statistics Of la.sses
among cattle and sheep during last win
ter as indicating a terrible amount Of
inhumanity among those who own and
are supposed to care for live stock on the
plains. In five states and territories the
losses attributed to exposure" were 10
to 151 per cent. in cattle and II to 271
per cent in sheep. The total for all was
about 3,4s5,000 head. The writer saws
the true cause of this loss is not stated
fully. 1t should be exposure and star
walton, he says, and then he asks if it
can be possible that the inhumanity
which leads to such losses '.pays." If
1t does pay it ought not to be permitted
There is no room to doubt the oft re-
peated charge that the range owners
practically doom great numbers Of these
miserable animals to death each winter,
as they know well that in an ordinary
season many must be frozen or starved
unless food be provided for the time the
ground Is covered deeply with snow.
Most of them neglect to do this. and the
result may be imagined better than it
can be described, as there are no human
eye witnesses to the terrible suffering
that attends the lingering death It Is
difficult to provide shelter for large
herds Of cattle, but it is comparatively
easy matter to lay in store of hay that
could be drawn upon when the grass
fails, and it is said few cattle are killed
by frost when they have sufficiency Of
food to sustain the natural heat of the
animal organism. At least in such case
they will survive if the conformation Of
the country provides them with par
tial shelter. 1t is different with sheep.
The latter are such helpless creatures in
snow storm that care by shepherds Is
needed in addition to food and shelter to
save them from wholesale destruction.
1t is estimated by man in the bust
ness that not less than a hundred persons
in this city have property interests in
live stock i'll the region surrounding Fort
Custer alone, and the number of part
owners in other sections of the west who
reside in this city must be even greater.
Probably few Of them are aware Of the
sin against brute nature for which they
are responsible, since it Is perpetrated
for the purpose Of adding few dollars
to the profit side of their account. They
should not allow u repetition of the cru
city, and now is the time to take meas
ures for its prevention in the future. If
deferred till the approach of next winter
it viii be too late to stop the enormity
for at least another season.
A few dollars more or less ought not
to be permitted to weigh in the balance
against the wholesale suffering to which
the above quoted figures furnish an in
dex. But it would seem possible To ar
range for 4 protection against all except
the unusually inclement winter weather
without actual loss The saving Of such
a large number Of animals for the mar
ket would compensate for the expendi-
trre needed to y .,le adequate food, if
not shelter, and i this inducement be
not sufficiently strong the law should be
invoked to stop the iniquity The man
who could be party to it is worthy Of
punishment. Chicago Tribune