Dog attacks should always be reported
THE IFA has called on the Department of Agriculture to launch a major publicity campaign on responsible dog ownership to address the problem of marauding dog attacks on sheep flocks.
Recent high-profile cases of dog attacks have been recorded across the country and, according to Wicklow IFA chairperson Chris Hill, this can also be a problem in County Wicklow from time to time.
‘Dog attacks occur sporadically everywhere and there have been large-scale incidents in the past in Wicklow. The problem is that many farmers don’t report incidents because they see it as a futile exercise. If the dog is not micro-chipped or it has been shot or if the owner no longer lives in the area, then they feel that nothing more can be done,’ said Mr Hill.
He said that the IFA en- courages farmers to report incidents, however small.
‘We in the IFA encourage our members to report attacks to the gardaí as there has to be some record. Also, if the gardaí are not made aware, how can they know if it is a matter that needs to be addressed or not?’
Mr Hill said that often a fullscale vicious attack is not the only incident that can have a detrimental affect on a flock, as the mere sight of a running dog can be enough to worry sheep.
‘Dogs can cause huge problems in lambing season. If the ewes are close to lambing, the lambs can get into distress and there can be difficulties at birth. Also, if a ewe has just conceived it can lose the embryos if worried by dogs. All this is costly to the farmer.’
He adds that if a sheep has been badly maimed by a dog, then the farmer must pay a vet to come and put the animal down and pay for carcass disposal.
‘Every dog needs to be micro-chipped, but this is not enough,’ said Mr Hill. ‘ There needs to be a central database so that the information can be accessed if a dog is caught.’
According to Mr Hill, the potential danger to sheep must be considered by dog walkers who let their dogs off leads and allow them to run where there are sheep.
IFA National Sheep Chair- man John Lynskey said that statistics collated by association indicate that the problem of dog attacks on sheep may be in the order of 300 to 400 attacks per annum, with 3,000 to 4,000 sheep injured and killed nationwide. Data on dog attacks gathered by the IFA shows an average of 11 sheep killed or injured per attack.
He said that the IFA has a protocol to help farmers who encounter a dog attack on their flock.
‘ The IFA protocol involves an easy-to-follow, 10-point Plan of Action covering what a farmer should do following a dog attack or sheep kill. The IFA protocol deals with what a farmer should do if they have n attack on their flock and also outlines important aspects of the law and how the dog warden service and the gardaí can help. It also sets out how to keep a full record of the attack, which can be used as evidence at a later stage,’ he said.
A complete clearance for a good selection of heavy and lighter lambs and cast ewes. Full mouthed brood ewes scanned in lamb with twins and singles made €140. Sample Prices as follows.
Wether and Ram Lambs: 55KG– €110; 48KG–€100; 46KG–€98; 42KG– €94; 40KG–€85; 36KG–€69
Ewe Lambs: 50KG–€110; 45KG– €107; 44KG–€101; 40KG–€88; 35KG– €68; 33KG–€60
A very strong trade for quality continental bullocks and heifers. With quality weanlings making up to 2.80/ Kg. Sample prices as follows.
Bullocks: 345KG–€840–Belgian Blue; 455KG–€890–Hereford; 500KG–€1130–Charolais; 595KG– €1160–Mont Bellarde; 605KG–€1320– Charolais
Heifers: 362KG–€700–Hereford; 400KG–€950–Limousin; 505KG– €1120–Charolais; 580KG–€1300– Limousin
Weanlings: 255KG–€455–Shorthorn X; 275KG–€460–Shorthorn X; 280KG–€610–Hereford; 285KG– €800–Charolais; 347KG–€875– Charolais.
186 Cattle & 49 Calves on offer. Trade similar to last week for all classes.
Cattle: Store Bullocks 500Kgs– €500 to €770 over €/kg; Store Bullocks 400Kgs–€430 to €625 over €/kg; Store Bullocks 300Kgs–€400 to €570 over €/kg; Store Heifers 400Kgs–€380 to €540 over €/kg; Store Heifers 300Kgs–€300 to €480 over €/kg.
Beef Cows–€330 to €710 over €/ kg; Feeding Cows–€/Kg to €300 over €/kg; Calves: Fr Bulls–€70 to €130 per head; Cont. Bulls–€210 to €360 per head; Cont. Heifers–€210 to €345 per head; HE/AA Bulls–€140 to €340 per head; HE/AA Heifers–€130 to €300 per head
1670 Sheep on offer. Trade similar to last week for all classes.
Butchers Lambs - €110 to €115 or €60 to €65 over €/kg; Factory Lambs - €97 to €110 or €47 to €59 over €/kg; Suffolk Store Lambs - €73 to €94 or €35 to €49 over €/kg; Cheviot Store Lambs - €65 to €89 or €30 to €45 over €/kg; Fat Ewes - €96 to €120 per head; Feeding Ewes - €66 to €94 per head. ewes: €130-€150
Prices: 16 lambs at 56kg at €114; 25 lambs at 53kg at €111; 15 lambs at 51kg at €110.50; 22 lambs at 47kg at €108; 18 lambs at 49kg at €110; 15 lambs at 44kg at €98; 43 lambs at 39kg at €90.50; 40 lambs at 40kg at €89; 25 lambs at 33kg at €80; 15 lambs at 36kg at €79; 30 lambs at 30kg at €67
The final cattle sale of 2017 saw a large entry with 640 cattle and 115 calves. Trade was very strong for all classes with bet demand for beef and quality store cattle. Prices as follows.
Beef and forward bullocks: €660€980 over; Continental store bullocks: €460-€810 over; Friesian bullocks: €140-€560 over; Beef Heifers: €580€890 over; Store Heifers: €320-€740 over; Beef Cows: €420-€840 over; Store Cows: €40 over–€380 over; In calf sucklers: €1000-€1500; Cows & Calves at foot: €1030–€1400
Calves–Friesian Bulls: €70-€205; Continental bulls: €200-€400; Continental heifers: €130-€380; HD AA Bulls: €150-€320; HD AA Heifers: €100-€260.
Final cattle sale for 2017 brings the year to a positive close with prices fully maintained on last week and maybe a noticeable improvement for the lighter stores and the heavy beef cattle.
Bullocks over 550kg selling from €1.75 for the FR types up to €2.24 per kg for the heavier forward type continental bullocks with 1 CH bk 720kg making €1840 2 FR bks 680kg making €1200.
Store bks over 450kg in an active demanding trade selling from €1000 upwards of €1300 but the majority selling from €1100 to €1250.
Lighter store bullocks selling from a base €2 per kg for the AA and HE type with the FR selling from a base of €1.85 and the good continentals pushing up to €2.50 to €2.60 per kg.
Bull weanlings fewer in number today but selling from €2.30 to €2.60 per kg with the exceptional E and U grades pushing up to €3.
Heavier heifers over 550kg selling from €1200 up to €1650 with the majority selling from €1300 to €1500 while the store heifers from 450kg upwards selling from €940 for the plainer types up to €1250 but the majority from €1000 to €1130 while the light heifers selling from a base of €2 for the HE and AA with the good LM and CH selling from €2.20 to €2.55 per kg with the Weanling hfrs meeting a similar trade €2.30 to €2.60 per kg.
Cull cows very active demand for the lighter feeding type cow with trade improved by €20 to €30 per head with those feeding cows selling anything from €150 up to €300 with the kg with the heavier cows pushing up to €850 and €900 with the kg.
Overall we would like to wish our customers a very Happy Christmas and prosperous new year thank them all for their business in 2017 and we look forward to reopening the sales yard for our first cattle sale for 2018 on Friday 5th January 2018.