An elderly husband and wife couple who are thought to have been killed by a sheep on their rural hobby farm have been named.
Helge and Gaye Hansen, who are both in their 80s, were found dead on Thursday morning on their Anzac Valley Road property in Waitakere, New Zealand, where they kept sheep, chicken and cattle.
The police confirmed that a ‘ram was in the paddock at the time we were notified of the deaths at 7.30am (on Thursday)’.
‘Another party at the scene suffered a minor injury after being attacked by this ram.
‘Once our staff arrived at the scene they, too, were confronted and approached by the ram. On undertaking a risk assessment, the ram was shot and died at the scene.’
Police officers are pictured carrying evidence bags on the property where a retired couple was found dead
The attack shocked family members, and the police who attended the scene and had to deal with the beast.
The police said there were ‘continuing to investigate on behalf of the coroner, to establish the full set of circumstances around what occurred in the paddock.
‘As part of this process, post-mortem examinations are due to be carried out (on Friday).’
The examination of the scene at the Anzac Valley Road property was completed on Thursday.
The Hansens were found dead by their son, who had gone to check on his parent after failing to hear from them.
It’s understood that Mr Hansen had gone to check on the ram but never returned. His wife then went to check on her husband but she too never made it back to the house.
Dean Burrell, a nephew and family spokesman, told news outlet Stuff the couple had ‘both lost their lives in a tragic accident’.
‘They’re good people. They’re over 80. They don’t deserve this,’ he said.
‘Everyone is in shock as to what’s happened. They are very upset.’
Mr Burrell said the couple had not communicated with their family for a couple of days.
‘Everyone’s in shock as to what’s happened. They’re very upset. I feel like I was dreaming it actually… being told what had happened and I just didn’t believe it.’
Mr Burrell’s father had phoned him to tell him the news.
‘So I’ve come down here to support my cousins and the wider family,’ he said.
St John medics attended the property with two ambulances early on Thursday, with a large police presence at the scene throughout the day.
A neighbour who has known the elderly couple for many years and asked not to be named, described them as a ‘very quiet couple,’ the NZ Herald reported.
Police are seen at the home of a couple who were reportedly killed by a ram on their property
Dean Burrell’s (pictured) aunt and uncle were killed by a ram on a rural New Zealand property
The neighbour said the man who lived at the property had been farming all his life and ‘was a very good stockman’.
Animal behaviourist Mark Vette, who has more than 50 years of experience working with animals, said rams are known to attack but it was rare someone would be killed.
‘Most people who have farmed at some stage would have had a ram that you’ve got to be careful of. If you turn your back on them, they’ll have a bit of a crack at you at times,’ he told Newshub.
‘It would be a very rare occasion for a ram to injure someone to that level, but where you can get knocked over and hurt is usually common.
St John medics attended the property with two ambulances early on Thursday, with a large police presence throughout the day
‘Getting smashed up against a wall or something, and them hitting you hard with their head, could definitely cause some serious injuries. They are a really powerful animal, so being charged at three or four times would be significant.’
He said it was possible to get ‘rogue rams’ that either hadn’t socialised with humans or had a build-up of testosterone.
Mr Vette said rams could cause serious damage even if they didn’t appear to have horns, as the base of the horns were still there.
He said being cornered by a ram would cause a major problem for people who weren’t physically able to jump over a fence or run away.
