Leave the gate as you found it (or leave all gates as found) is an important rule of courtesy in rural areas throughout the world. If a gate is found open, it should be left open, and if it is closed, it should be left closed. It applies to visitors travelling onto or across farms, ranches, and stations.
In low-rainfall areas, closing gates can cut livestock off from water supplies. For example, most of the land used for grazing in Australia has no natural water supplies, so drinking water for the stock must be supplied by the farmer or landowner, often by using a windmill to pump groundwater. Even visitors who know how a stock water system works may be unaware of breakdowns. During hot weather, cattle require large quantities of water to drink and can die in less than a day if they do not get it. Sheep need less water and can survive longer without it, but will die if cut off from water for several hot days.
In all agricultural areas, farmers need to keep groups of livestock separate, for reasons including breeding for disease resistance and increased production, pest control, and controlling when ewes deliver their lambs. Unwanted mingling of flocks or herds can deprive a farmer of significant income.
The original versions of the United Kingdom's Country Code advised visitors to always close gates. The revised Countryside Code now suggests that gates should be left as found.
Famous quotes containing the words leave the, leave and/or gate:
“The aim, if reached or not, makes great the life:
Try to be Shakespeare, leave the rest to fate!”
—Robert Browning (1812–1889)
“The tension to mother the “right” way can leave a peculiar silence within mother daughter relationships—the silence of a mother’s own truth and experience. Within this silence, a daughter’s authentic voice can also fall silent. This is the silence of perfection. This silence of perfection prevents mothers from listening and learning from their daughters.”
—Elizabeth Debold (20th century)
“The approval of the public is to be avoided like the plague. It is absolutely essential to keep the public from entering if one wishes to avoid confusion. I must add that the public must be kept panting in expectation at the gate by a system of challenges and provocations.”
—André Breton (1896–1966)