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Dean G. Bruce Wiersma, of the University of Maine College of Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture, will soon spend about $15,000 to safeguard Witter Farm.
The decision to purchase an electric fence for the perimeter of the farm and an electronically coded gate came within months of several recent horse assaults at the farm.
The first safety precaution was the installation of a high-tech surveillance digital camera system, purchased last May after a horse was sexually assaulted at the farm.
“It made all of us [at the farm] just sick. We felt sorry for the animals, sorry for the owners of the horses. I guess just sorry there are sick people out there,” said Patti Tewhey, administrative assistant for the college and a member of the farm’s co-op. “It made everybody feel helpless.”
“We were so shocked by that,” Wiersma said. “I initially thought, ‘We have to do something right now.’”
The surveillance system was installed within one week of the second horse assault at the farm in May.
“This moved extremely rapidly thanks to the police,” Wiersma said.
Wiersma said installing an electric fence around the perimeter of the farm will further improve safety.
The fence will be purchased with money from a $1 million state bond granted in June for upgrading experimental farms in Maine.
The surveillance system cost the college approximately $15,600.
“It was worth every penny,” said Jessica Small, a third-year equine business student and student barn manager at the farm. “I’m happy to think that our farm and animals are important to the university.”
About 11 cameras, which are always on and motion-activated, were installed within the barn area of the farm.
Following charges filed against a UMaine student for the most recent horse assault in September, Wiersma said he considered the surveillance system a good investment.
“I’ve heard all positive feedback from this purchase,” he said. “People have been saying, ‘Boy, what a smart move.’”
William Diemer, 20, of Old Town, was summonsed by the UMaine Department of Public Safety on charges of cruelty to animals and criminal trespassing for sexually assaulting a horse at Witter Farm on Sept. 20. Following an unsuccessful search by state police after a staff member allegedly saw Diemer flee from a horse’s stall, police used footage from the cameras to identify and later summons Diemer.
“They wouldn’t have caught this person without the cameras,” Tewhey said.
About half of the perimeter of the farm is already equipped with electric fencing, and remaining areas will be fenced in with four-strand, 50,000-volt line fencing, Wiersma said.
“Touching the fence is like putting your finger in a light bulb socket,” Wiersma said. “It’s a deterrent. It won’t kill anybody.”
An electronically-coded fence will also be installed near the top of the hill on the dirt road heading toward the farm.
Small said she thinks the extra precautions will work wonders for keeping intruders out of the farm.
“Our equine and animal science programs are growing tremendously, and this helps to ensure everyone’s safety and make them feel safe enough to become a part of Witter,” she said.
However, the fence will limit public access to the farm.
“At some point that gate is going to be shut,” Tewhey said. “That is unfortunate.”
Tewhey and Wiersma said they still agree it is a necessary precaution, despite the inconvenience.
“The surveillance camera did its job in the sense that it caught the person, but he was still in there molesting a horse,” Wiersma said. “You cannot fully protect the farm, but I think the fence will be just one more layer of deterrence.”
Tewhey, who boards a horse at the farm, said the new safety measures make her feel more reassured of her horse’s safety after hours.
Although the recent horse assaults were the driving force behind further safeguarding Witter Farm, the possibility of bioterrorism was another reason for increasing safety, Wiersma said.
“If anyone had asked me two years ago about something like this happening it would have been the furthest thing from my mind. I just didn’t think about it. It was beyond my comprehension,” he said. “I really hope we don’t have to do anything more.”
“I’m very pleased the dollars are being spent and that they are making this investment,” Tewhey said.
Contractors have placed bids to build the electric fencing around the perimeter of the farm, which should be completed by the beginning of this winter. Wiersma said he hopes the gate will be completed by next spring.
“Things are moving along. The police and the entire community have taken this very seriously,” he said.
“There are so many positives [at Witter Farm] that we will not let the terrible incidents surrounding our animals make us negative,” Tewhey said.
Bangor Daily News