Barking up the wrong tree over a worrying solution?

D gruesomeespite repeated campaigns to raise awareness of sheep worrying, it’s on the increase.

Hardly a day goes by on social media without photos of the carnage caused by dogs worrying sheep.

But a very rare event happened recently when the owner of two dogs, shot while worrying sheep, posted photographs of his dead hounds and took full responsibility for their killing spree.

The pair of highly-trained, biddable gun dogs had killed a total of 35 sheep including those which had to be put down.

Sheep worrying in Scotland has certainly increased since the right to roam became law which may just be coincidence, and there may be other factors contributing to the increase.

Statistics on sheep worrying are scarce, it’s not always reported and all too often dead and injured sheep are discovered after the dog is long gone.

Dog walkers tend to get the blame for the problem but anecdotal evidence suggests that most of it is done by stray dogs whose owners neither know or care where their dogs are or what they’re getting up to.

They are the irresponsible owners that campaigns never reach.

With an undermanned police force stretched to the limit, the chances of police taking any action on sheep worrying are slim at best.

Court cases involving sheep worrying are extremely rare and indeed the most recent report to make the news saw the farmer fined for breach of the peace after an argument with the owner of a dog that had been worrying his sheep.

The Kennel Club’s (KC) attitude to sheep worrying is lukewarm.

They’ve been involved in awareness campaigns to remind dog owners to keep their animals under control, but the KC website information puts the onus for preventing worrying on farmers, with suggestions that they improve signage, fence off footpaths, reroute paths, move feeding areas, as well as measures restricting access which are not available to farmers in Scotland.

The underlying message is that farmers should pay more attention to the needs of the dog-walking community.

It’s a poor response by an organisation with a lot of clout which could do much more to educate dog owners.

The awareness campaigns have so far made little impression on the incidence of sheep worrying, but nobody has come up with any other solution.

Teaching schoolchildren about what a family pet is capable of could well be worthwhile in the long term if it can be done without traumatising them, while solutions such as a DNA register for dogs are expensive and can’t easily be achieved.

Dog lovers are incensed when dogs are shot, are enraged at the negligence that led to it, and many strongly believe that owning a dog is a privilege that should be earned.

Maybe they have the solutions to the problems caused by irresponsible dog owners, so why doesn’t anybody ask them?

Sheepdogs are trained to deal with flocks but other pets can cause terrible damage.