Was I being overly sensitive? *TW animal death

[alphapie]

So I live in a small Villiage, as a previous city dweller some of the downsides of living in the countryside have taken a while to get used to, such as cows waking us up at 5am, free roaming peacocks destroying our cars paint on the roof and general manure smells every now and again. But after 4 years we are getting there.

Last night a local farmer had 40 lambs killed, he thinks it was a dog attack, instead of just putting a normal post about it on the local FB group (like he and other farmers have before) his son instead decided to share 20 graphic photos of the dead lambs along with the post asking for information or if anyone saw anything.

Now I was pretty upset to be scrolling through FB and to then see images of lambs ripped apart, insides everywhere, pilled on top of each other and commented this on the post. Reminding him that there are teens and young people in the group and it's maybe not the best thing to put on here, to be fair I'd expect many people, adults included would feel upset seeing these images on their FB feed.

I was jumped on by the farmer, other farmers in the village, the 'we've been here for 30 years, go back to the local city if you don't like it' lot and even accused of being the attacker, despite not owning a bloody dog.

I personally also think 40 lambs in one go is unlikely to be a dog attack, but didn't comment that of course.

Was I being unreasonable or overly sensitive to find this shocking and to maybe suggest it's a bit too much to post in a FB group where local children often post looking for summer work or weekend car washing for pocket money? Am I turning into one of those 'think of the children' people!

Well clearly it is deemed inappropriate to post those images on FB, since it's broke the rules.

As expected no one has come forwards, the police have no leads and nothing will have been gained from this FB post

? Is accepting images of dead animals thrust in your face a country thing

Not sure about that. I thought it was acknowledged higher rates amongst farmers? I think maybe you could have shown a bit of empathy for the farmer and his lambs. You could have scrolled past the pictures. He couldn’t ignore the reality on his farm. It’s really awful when people don’t respect the countryside code. And chances are it’s not the first time he’s lost livestock to out of control dogs. Happens far more often than it should.

Suicide rates in farmers : oem.bmj.com/content/57/9/642

dog attacks on livestock : (15k sheep killed by dogs in 2016 , and will have increased since then : www.countryfile.com/wildlife/wildlife-stories/dog-attacks-on-livestock-how-bad-is-the-problem-and-what-are-the-possible-solutions/

100% of posters tell OP that she’s unreasonable, many taking the time to try and explain to her the reality of country life.

OP continues to harp on she’s right, mentioning no less than five times that she single-handedly ensured the post is removed and can no longer harm viewers.

I really wish city dwellers stay the fuck away from the country, instead of going on a righteous mission to civilise the peasants. Fucking clueless clowns.

Are you ok hun?

Seem a bit angry, have an Ovaltine and get some rest

Facebook community standards are no indicator of validity. Just because nobody has come forward that you're aware of, doesn't mean that someone didn't see something, or the owner isn't aware of their dog's behaviour because of it, and will make sure it doesn't happen again. Some other idiot might not let their dog loose near sheep in future because they saw the horror of those photos.

Farmers should share graphic images, and if facebook won't host them, there are plenty of sites that will. And all dog owners should be made to look at them and confront the consequences of poor control. People might not like the images, but the reality is exponentially worse.

I really wish city dwellers stay the fuck away from the country, instead of going on a righteous mission to civilise the peasants. Fucking clueless clowns.

I really feel for the sane, sensible city dwellers who move out to the country and have to live with the reputation that people like the OP deserve. There are decent people in cities too, even if the OP is a walking bloody stereotype.

You think it's ok for farmers to allow sheep to run wild causing car accidents?

Calling bs on this one

OP you are definitely not fitting in.

This kind of loss is devastating for a farmer.

Have some heart, and try to get a grip on why they're so pissed off. I'm sure if someone took away a good chunk of your income in distressing circumstances you'd be pissed off and upset too.

. He's pissed off because he's lost money

Aye, his income that he pays his bills and buys food with. Jesus christ are people really this clueless?

Ouch, one of my friends had a similar attack a few years ago.

Having to help scoop up sometimes still warm from the sun entrails was not a high point of my life.

If local dogs are doing this, be part of the solution not the problem.

Are you ok hun?

I’m great, thanks - I don’t know what Ovaltine is, must be a city thing.
Good luck with living your country life dream though - I’m sure one of these days everyone will see the errors in their ways and embrace you in the community.

Considering one other poster is aware of this incident your view is a bit silly. It's been well reported locally as the police have picked it up

But nice try

you can have a virtual one

Validated by Facebook.

That bastion of morals and decency.

So that’s okay then eh?

7worfs was right.

Country life

And what's the solution? As that would have been more helpful than the images to share on FB.

I don't have a dog, report dogs that are wandering lose (99% of the time they belong to farmers anyway) so really what else is the solution

Fitting in just fine, only the odd farmer and old man that has an issue with this, hardly a loss. Thankfully I have a thriving community around me, friends, school mums etc. so fitting in doesn't seem to be an issue but if loving images of dead sheep is a requirement then I'd be glad not to. Privately the farmers closest to us are in agreement that these farmers are shit but rely on them for help transporting so didn't get involved. Nothing more country life than a drama

Interesting that you blame the sheep and the farmer, not the car drivers. Stock sometimes stray, despite every effort sometimes they end up on roads, as do wild animals. It's the driver's responsibility to drive safely on rural roads - and that includes expecting to encounter animals on the roads.

@CaptainThe95thRifles you think a dual carriageway is a 'rural' road?

It's odd how this farm is the only one with sheep escaping, do you not at least admit that's a bit weird. What are the other farmers doing that they aren't. As they sure don't check on or secure their sheep very well. The last attack they had they didn't even notice for a few days. That one was very grim

Couldn’t care less about people that make their living that way.

Death is death. If you live in the countryside you get used to seeing dead animals in a way you don't in the city. At the end of the day we're all nothing but flesh and bone.

People being shown the consequences of loose dogs in graphic terms is much more effective than polite verbal requests.

YABU.

Sometimes shock is needed to get people to stop. You find it upsetting? Imagine how that farmer feels. Seeing his livestock like that. Having to clear them up. Having to worry about his already slim margins becoming slimmer. Having to pay for disposable of the sheep, of his income. Having to worry about making ends meet, feeding his family. All because someone either let their dog off their lead or didn’t secure their garden and the dog escaped. And yes, I’m a dog owner.

It doesn’t need to identify the culprits. It almost certainly won’t. However, it might make one person check their fences are secure. It might make one person keep their dog on the lead near livestock. Even if it’s one person, it’s one potential less dog attack. It’s not bloody rocket science. FB removed the post because you complained because you don’t like the realities of living in the countryside (which is evident from how you describe living in the countryside). There is much worse on FB but they’ve come under such criticism lately that any report from the easily offended gets the post removed.

Also, the farmer probably can’t afford to fix his fences and maintain his boundaries because sheep farming isn’t particularly lucrative, fences are expensive and he keeps losing livestock to dog attacks. He can’t just magic money out of his arse. Although given he’s lost 40 sheep he’s probably wishing he could magic money out of his arse.

However, you’ve already decided you’re not unreasonable so just request MN to delete the post now because this isn’t going to go the way you want.