Cattle Grids Proposed to Combat Grazing Hooligan Sheep Flock as Shepherd Counters with Law from Middle Ages — England

Residents of an English village in Gloucestershire are advocating the construction of cattle grids to stop a roving flock of sheep from grazing on their lawns and gardens, but the shepherd is fighting back by citing a law from the middle ages. According to reports, the locals have been tolerating these woolly terrorists for the past ten years.

In a Gloucestershire Village in England

In the Forest of Dean, homeowners of the Kidnalls Drive estate have had to endure grazing sheep destroying their gardens. The grazing sheep have used the locals' gardens as toilets, causing the limitation in growing any flowers or vegetation in their gardens, and being kept awake at night by the sheep.

Since the Whitecroft estate was built in 2014, the sheep have been causing chaos, and the situation has gotten out of hand with locals blaming a shepherd for not keeping the animals under control.

Law from the Middle Ages

The shepherd retaliated by asserting that under "common of mast" laws dating back to the Middle Ages, his sheep were entitled to graze anywhere in the Forest of Dean.

Long-suffering residents, however, asserted that the Forest boundary is marked 30 meters down the road from the estate and that the sheep had no right to graze there, sparking a tumult between the two camps.

One resident, Jeff Beveridge, who has been there since the estate's construction, claimed that his neighbors were thinking about starting a petition to have a cattle grid built to keep the sheep out.

Beveridge said via Gloucestershire Live that due to the grazing sheep flock, the residents have to give up on growing anything in their front yards.

The estate used to have escallonia shrubs in front of every house, but Beveridge claimed that only lavender and rosemary bushes are safe from the grazing sheep.

He added that stressed sheep would bleat from early in the morning to late at night.

Cattle Grid Proposed

At a meeting last week, Forest of Dean District Council member Richard Boyles, a representative of the Newnham ward, proposed installing a cattle grid to prevent sheep from crossing the main road.

Dr. David Collier, a retired university lecturer, has been a resident of the estate for 2.5 years and is in favor of the cattle grid idea. He claimed that they were surprised to see no one had any flowers growing in their front lawns when they were walking through the housing development. He also pointed out that the sheep cannot be controlled, as he remembered their small tree being nibbled and taken down until only muck was left. He pointed out the need for a physical barrier, the Yorkshire Evening Post reports.

Also Read: Sheep Marching in a Circle for 12 Days Straight in China Raises Concern and Speculation

Law from the Present Day

For failing to confine his sheep to the forest's boundaries, the local shepherd has now been kicked out of the graziers' association.

He asserted that the estate was inside the permitted grazing area and claimed that his sheep did not harm any gardens. He continues to maintain that he is inside the perimeter and that his sheep haven't destroyed any gardens. The shepherd also mentioned that not all of the sheep grazing in the community are his, and some other shepherds are the owners of the other sheep.

He also said that if people asked him to move his sheep, he will, Mirror reports.