Owners at fault on dog attacks on sheep

Sheep farmers have called on dog owners to take responsibility for their pets’ actions after a survey showed that less than 5 per cent of sheep farmers received any direct contact from the owners of dogs that have been involved in a sheep worrying attack on their livestock.

A survey for the National sheep Association showed that the vast majority of attacks went unacknowledged until the farmer discovered dead and injured sheep – rather than being reported by owners or other witnesses – a situation which the NSA said left sheep suffering distress and farmers facing emotional upset on discovering the upsetting scenes.

“NSA is therefore calling on dog owners to take responsibility for the attacks should their dog be involved in chasing and/or attacking sheep,” said the NSA’s chief executive, Phil Stocker.

“It may feel daunting as a dog owner to come forward to a farmer to admit responsibility, but NSA believes that farmers would rather be informed by the dog owners themselves rather than finding injured, or even worse, dead sheep in their fields.“Sheep worrying by dogs is a crime but openness from the dog owner can mean a more amicable resolution can hopefully be achieved and it is better than having to explain a failure to report if the dog is able to be traced.”

The survey also showed that for those suffering dog attacks, the average cost if such incidents was £1232 per farmer per year.

But Stocker said most flock owners said that the additional stress, anger and anxiety experienced after attacks were the biggest concerns.