Lamb almost starves to death after being locked in Mount Gambier skate park
A newborn lamb is recovering from almost starving to death after being locked in a Mount Gambier skate park by a council employee for two days.
A statement from the City of Mount Gambier council said the lamb and two other larger lambs were found wandering close to traffic on Jubilee Highway East on Sunday and then locked inside the nearby Dimjalla skate park by a ranger that night.
In a post on Facebook that she described as an open letter to the council, wildlife rescuer Julia Dangerfield said she noticed the male lamb in distress about 11am on Tuesday.
She called the council to let them know the lamb, which still had its umbilical cord attached, was "hypothermic, non-responsive, and unable to move".
A ranger came and let Ms Dangerfield look after the lamb, which she gave milk to and warmed up overnight at her house on Tuesday.
She then passed it onto the Orphan Lamb Rescue Farm — an organisation that looks after orphaned and abandoned lambs in nearby Glencoe.
In a video Ms Dangerfield posted online, the lamb can be seen writhing around on the ground.
Warning: The following video contains images of the lamb in distress.
Orphan Lamb Rescue Farm president and founder, Rebecca Alexander, said the lamb was less than a week old and appeared to be starving because it was not given any milk.
She said it was likely having a fit because of a low blood-sugar level.
"They tend to go downhill very quickly when they don't get regular milk at his age.
"We're hoping that's all it is and that it hasn't done any internal damage."
The temperature dipped down to 4 degrees Celsius overnight in Mount Gambier on Sunday night and 5C on Monday night.
Ms Alexander said the lamb had started drinking milk from a bottle and standing up.
"He looks really well," she said.
"The wildlife carer's done a fantastic job."
Unlike Ms Dangerfield, Ms Alexander was not critical of the council ranger's actions.
"I guess it's something that the council doesn't deal with very often, and so they probably don't have any type of facilities to take the sheep in," Ms Alexander said.
"I'm assuming they thought locking it in a skate park kept them safe and off the road.
"I think the main thing that could have been done is hay and water put out immediately for them and then the little one be taken in because he was one that definitely needed milk."
Ms Dangerfield called on the council to investigate the incident.
The council said the welfare of animals was a priority "and we remain committed to acting swiftly when animals are in need".
"We're pleased to report that all three lambs are currently safe and recovering," it said.
"Council extends its sincere thanks to the community members who supported the animals during this time."
The two larger lambs have been taken to a farm.
A fourth lamb was found near the Mount Gambier showgrounds, also in the city's east, on Sunday.
But Ms Alexander did not believe it was connected with the other three, since it was used to being fed by humans.
"He's very, very friendly," she said.
"He's used to the bottle. The dog doesn't scare him. So obviously he's been hand-raised already."
Lambs raised by the Orphan Lamb Rescue Farm are only adopted out to people who plan to keep them as pets.
None of the rescued lambs had ear tags.
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