Warning for dog owners during lambing season

FIFE: Farmer has to destroy sheep mauled by dog

A Fife shepherd has described the moment he found one of his flock mauled by dogs.

Duncan Macrae, who works on Balbirnie Estate, had to watch as the pregnant ewe was destroyed.

The Scottish SPCA urged dog owners to keep their pets on leads near livestock following the incident at East Lomond.

Farmer Colin Black heard dogs at around 8am and arrived at the field to find the flock huddled next to a fence.

One ewe was badly mauled around the neck, while another sheep had part of its tail bitten off.

Mr Black, 42, said: “I have looked into the law.

“If the dogs had been still there, the dogs would have been shot.

“It’s hard to shoot a sheep, but it’s harder to shoot a dog because it’s not the dog’s fault, it’s the owner of the dog who is at fault. The dog is a pet and there could be a child at home who loves that pet. It’s horrific.”

Chief Superintendent Mike Flynn said: “Sheep worrying can often lead to sheep being killed or seriously injured as they try to flee as they can run into fences or walls when panicked.

“It is a big issue at any time of the year but more so during lambing season when the sheep and lambs are more vulnerable.

“The stress that sheep incur while being chased can lead to them miscarrying and even death.

“We appreciate that the countryside is a great place to walk dogs, but as it is a dog’s natural instinct to chase we would always recommend that dogs are kept on a lead near any farm animal.”

Farmers across Tayside and Fife readying themselves for lambing season will be keeping increasingly anxious watch over their flocks in coming weeks. Currently-pregnant ewes will determine the success or otherwise of their year.

Operating fine margins, they cannot afford to lose too many lambs.

Unfortunately for the farmers and shepherds, the turn in weather which signals the season also brings many more people into the countryside, often with their dogs.

In what has become a depressingly common occurrence, we have already seen a flock attacked, at a farm in Fife.

One pregnant sheep had to be destroyed, having suffered injuries too horrific to countenance any other outcome.

It remains to be seen what the effect of the attack will be on the rest of the flock, placed under conditions of extreme stress which could cause them to miscarry.

Angry farm workers have said they would have shot the dog had they caught it in the act of savaging their animals and destroying their livelihood.

Such extreme actions would be a last resort and upsetting for everyone involved.

There is no reason for dogs to be let loose on farmland. If owners want to avoid placing not only livestock, but their own pets, in danger, they must keep them under control.

The consequences could, otherwise, be dire.