Just spent what was to be a lovely childless, workless morning at the lottie. Got there to find the two plots opposite had been smashed up overnight - one was a livestock plot and his cockerel neck was pulled, one rabbit mutilated and left to die, two stolen, two let loose, and three ducks stolen. They then went to the plot next door and put a hosepipe into the guy's leek trench and left it on all night, and trashed his salad bed. This happened between 10.30 pm and 4.00 am on a small, highly secure metal-fenced site overlooked by houses where a fair few of the plotters live. I am stunned, horrified and angry - and very concerned about my plans to keep chickens now. Personally, I don't think this can be young kids - the leek trench damage and the way the cockerel was killed doesn't sound like kids to me - which is even more frightening.
Although i dont have an allotment,i walk my dog near to one at the weekends and these get trashed on a regular basis.Last episode resulted in chickens being battered to death,plots destroyed and sheds vandalised.
This is due to "children" as occasionally i see them larking about inside (it isnt fenced off) and wander over to have a quiet word with them...with my dog.
Problem is,there is a playing field with skateboard ramps,swings etc nextdoor so when the kids have had enough playing-they turn their attention to peoples property.
You may want to have a word with other owners and see if you all could take it in turns keeping an eye on the site for vandals.Vandalism always gets worse in the summer cause of the holidays so be on your guard!
Ceri, That is horrific! To vandalise an allotment is shameful, but to actually mutilate and maim animals is pure evil! Why would anyone want to desecrate a leek trench with a hosepipe it is just malicious and wicked. It does knock your faith in the human animal, and if there are youngsters involved what sort of path are they about to tread in life?
You can't help associating that sort of damage to some sort of drug abuse, because who in their right mind would perpetrate that. Your right It is worrying to think an adult could carry out that sort of atrocity. When we spoke to a police officer when our Site was vandalised he recommended a battery alarm attached to sheds or gates which might help, particularly if you have lottie holders living nearby who can hear them, and they are a deterent. I think eventuall Allotment Sites will have to be fitted with CCTV cameras, because problems just seem to be getting worse.
It would be a shame if you couldn't have your chickens but you would have to think very carefullly about your security system. I am so sorry for everyone who has suffered. Lots of cyber hugs!! :( busy_lizzie
That is cruel and disgusting! >:(
That kind of behaviour is what scares me about keeping livestock on an allotment. I am lucky that I am able to keep hens in my garden. Ceri you will need to think carefully about having hens on your allotment especially now that you know this kind of thing has happened at your site.
As BL has suggested, if you can find some way of setting up alarms that may help in future, especially that some of the tenants live nearby. Is there any way of setting up a light connected to a motion sensor. Our external light by our front door lights automatically when someone walks nearby, perhaps if you could have something like that dotted around the allotment powered by car battery, that may be a deterrent and an alarm to local residents that trouble could be looming.
A friend had his pigeon loft destroyed one day but luckily for him the moment the rampage started the pigeons took flight. He managed to retrieve all of his pigeons, they sat on the pylon above and watched him make repairs to the loft. A few extra precautions he made was to sink the walls 4 feet into the ground to prevent it being tipped over as his old one had been done. As for the mindless breaking of timbers I used my metal working skills to make a metal sub frame and each timber slat was then pop riveted into place. We had to weld the mesh for the windows and vents to the subframe instead of pinning it. The whole loft looks like a normal wooden loft but with the metal subframe it's a lot sronger. The only weak point is the door but we changed it from an open inney to an open outy and put a metal catcher frame to stop people kicking it in. This coupled with a yale lock instead of a padlock has worked. We have found footmarks on the door and walls of the loft, but luckily no breaks or break ins yet. These are extreme measures that can be utilised for a chicken coop if you seriously worried and still want to keep chickens.
Any vandalism is dreadful but to harm livestock is beyond words for me. It's all been said, Ceri, just want to register my "support" as I can't find the words.
bloody hell Ceri, thats awful. sounds similar to what happened on our site last year - i just don't understand how/why people can do that sort of thing.
Words fail me Ceri! Keep starting to type, but the words don't come. Please pass our thoughts onto your lottie neighbours.
That is horrible. Utterly horrible. Especially as there were animals hurt or killed. How can anyone do that to an innocent animal? I'm fuming.
Don't know what to say, it is utterly awful. I can't believe the mentality of anyone who does things like that. All sympathies to you and your allotment neighbours.
And yet we are told, these days, not to 'discipline' our children?? = Tim
Tim, the more I think about it, the more I am convinced it wasn't children. I could see some young horrors doing some serious damage, even cutting and killing animals, but I just can't see kids pulling a cockerel's neck, or putting a hose on in a leek trench all night - where would kids get that idea? The lottie owner spent the last two nights actually sleeping on the plot with his dogs for company - nice bloke, but I wouldn't want to be on the wrong side of him in a temper! Luckily (or should that be sadly) no further incidents. For those not used to the interesting characteristics of A4A, the word for a male chicken is not accepted and another word is automatically put in its place!
Ceri,
I too was absolutely horrified, sad and disgusted to hear the story. I wouldn't count anyone out...hate to say it but remember that poor little toddler killed by two older boys? Who knows? I hope it has been reported to the police. Suppose we are lucky here in the village that our 'community police officer' (who has an 08- number but is very nice and wouldn't be offended to be called the 'village bobby') would be involved in dealing with that sort of thing, if it happened. If ther is some seriously disturbed person, ,they might be able to identify by what happened.
I really feel for you and can understand your concern at having some 'girls'. Don't know what to advise but hope they get the b***rds.
Take care and hope peace comes your way....CLx