The farm from which Jack the Donkey disappeared last fall has been sold
Jun 30, 2009 - 10:13 AM
Jack Lakey, Torstar news services
PORT PERRY -- The Port Perry farm from which Jack the Donkey disappeared last fall has been sold, bringing an end to years of what outraged neighbours say was the neglect of sheep and other animals.
And the Etobicoke man who owned the 70 to 80 sheep, Andras Dios, is unlikely to return to raising livestock unless it is in his native Hungary. He was recently deported there by Immigration Canada.
Last fall we began documenting conditions on the Ma Brown's Rd. farm after we spotted a poster asking people to keep an eye out for Jack, a donkey that allegedly wandered away from it.
We soon learned it was not Dios who put up the posters but neighbours who were worried about Jack and filled us in on the rest of the story: allegedly inadequate feeding of sheep, goats and other animals, pervasive hoof rot among the herd and water given to them from a contaminated well.
But the most appalling of the conditions inside the barn was the sheep dung coating the floor, well over one metre deep in many places. It was so high in some spots that we saw a goat bump the ceiling rafters with its horns.
Despite years of complaints from neighbours to the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the situation remained unchanged. The agency issued orders that were not enforced, then explained its approach by telling The Fixer it was "working with" Dios to improve conditions on the farm.
Incredibly, a spokesperson told us "it could be" good for sheep to live in a barn filled with dung that hadn't been mucked out in five years, insisting the dung made for good insulation in winter.
If it's good for farm animals to live in their own filth, why would so many other farmers work hard to keep barn floors free of manure?
Catherine Ayotte, the listing agent for the farm, confirmed it has been sold, with the new owners to take possession next month. The last of the sheep were sold and taken away last week, said Ayotte, adding she was appalled by what she saw at the farm while trying to sell it.
Jack Lakey is The Fixer columnist for the Toronto Star
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