Barking mad
A SADDELL farmer is urging dog walkers to be responsible near his livestock.
AS THE lambing season gathers pace, there are fresh warnings to dog owners to keep their pets under control.
It is an offence to allow a dog to worry livestock but, despite this, one Kintyre farmer has faced dog worrying problems for years.
Andrew Glenn, 25, from Saddell Home Farm, has confronted dozens of dog walkers who have allowed their pets to chase sheep in his fields, eliciting various responses from the owners.
Andrew said: ‘We’ve previously lost 12 lambs by ewes aborting them because of dog worrying, and we have had sheep and lambs mauled, which all have to be treated, which can be costly.’
Excuses have ranged from claims that the dog pulled the lead from its owner’s hand, or that the owner thought it would be all right as the farm’s dog was already in the field, to accusations that the farm’s fences were not up to scratch, which allowed their pet to enter the field.
Andrew added: ‘The job of our fences is to keep our stock in and they do that.
‘To stop all dogs jumping them would require a deer fence, and that is not economically viable.’
As well as the obvious injuries suffered by sheep if dogs do attack, worrying can be very costly, especially for smaller farms and smallholdings, as the long-term impact on the livestock can be catastrophic.
Worrying can cause pregnant ewes to lose their lambs, which can have a negative effect for years, as it impacts on their breeding programmes and reduces the sheep’s productivity.
It is especially important to keep dogs under control at this time of the year as most farms will either have started lambing or will be just about to begin.
Good advice for dog owners is simply to keep your dog on a lead, especially when you are near fields with livestock.
Andrew said: ‘We do not want to discourage dog walkers at all – we just want to urge them to be responsible.’
NFU Scotland’s regional chairman for Argyll and Islands, John Dickson, added: ‘The advice is clear – the public should not take dogs into fields where young livestock are present.
‘We would ask the public to ensure that they are familiar with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, and to ensure that where they do access fields with livestock, dogs should be under close control. They may also take an alternative route to avoid livestock.
‘Farmers are well within their rights to shoot a dog in the event that they witness it worrying livestock.’