Post by Graveyardbride on May 23, 2014 6:42:02 GMT -5
Sheep commit suicide after eating poisonous plant
Hundreds of sheep in Australia have "committed suicide" after eating and becoming addicted to a poisonous plant. Some 800 sheep died after eating the Darling Pea (Swainsona galegifolia), then bashing their heads open "like heroin addicts."
The plant is toxic to the animals and if the sheep graze on it for a period of time, it causes addiction, a lack of coordination and depression.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that New South Wales farmers Stephen and Louise Knight have lost 800 sheep to the plant.
"They just go to a post and bang their head on it till they crack their heads open," Louise said. "It's like dealing with a thousand heroin addicts."
Vet Bob McKinnon, said sheep display erratic behavior "similar to that of a drunk" when they become addicted to the plant. "They lose weight to start with and then get staggery, the progression gets worse, they get uncoordinated and depressed, they don't know where their feet are and they become recumbent and die that way," he said.
There appears to be no cure, other than preventing the animals' eating the plant in the first place.
Source: David Harding, The New York Times, May 18, 2104.
