Hawke's Bay farmers warned to check fences after rise in wandering stock

Police encourage farmers to regularly check fences to prevent their stock wandering the road. Photo / File

Hawke's Bay police are encouraging farmers to be more vigilant after an increase in reports of wandering stock.

Community Constable John Bruce says there will always be the odd cattle beast or sheep wandering the tarmac in more rural areas, while wild goats are a more regular occurrence near State Highway 5.

"There's really not much we can do to prevent goats wandering the road, but we do ask that people drive with care, especially around the rockier areas.

"Sometimes the goats just wander from farm to farm and then unfortunately end up on the road and in the path of a car."

Bruce says farmers are usually "pretty good" at keeping their stock behind fences and says police had not had any major issues recently.

"That being the case, it's always important for farmers to check their fences and gates, because it's not a good outcome for either the driver and the animal if they're out wandering the road.

"If people do see stock out on the road then it's best to call the police or call *555 and because we know many of the farmers around Hawke's Bay we're able to identify where the animal came from and get it sorted with the farmer pretty quickly."

Bruce also warns residents to keep an eye on their wandering dogs, as they sometimes pose more of a risk than wandering stock.

"A lot of people - especially in rural areas - think that because they have so much space their dogs won't go wandering about at night - but the fact of the matter is they do.

"If people do see dogs wandering they should notify their neighbours, police or animal control if they don't know where the dog has come from."