Sheep worrying on the increase
FOR one police officer, harrowing scenes of dead and injured sheep have become a part of his daily working life.
Rob Taylor, rural crime team manager for DyfedPowys Police, is confronted with the aftermath of sheep worrying incidents nearly every day.
Each time he issues the same warnings to dog owners to keep their dogs under control. But the shocking upward trend of dogs killing sheep has got so bad, Mr Taylor is posting the horrific images in a bid to show just how distressing it is.
The number of dog attacks on sheep has risen by a third in the past few years. Police officers in rural parts of Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion are seeing attacks nearly every other day.
In the first two weeks of October, 11 sheep were killed and 57 were injured.
In just two weeks in mid-October, 50 sheep were set upon by dogs in two separate attacks in the Esgair Fwyog area, near Tirabad in Powys. Fourteen were killed, 36 were injured. The scenes are distressing, said Mr Taylor, which is upsetting for the farmers as well as his officers
According to Mr Taylor, the trend has increased because farmers are more confident about reporting the attacks. Whereas before, they tended to deal with the consequences of sheep worrying alone, they are now much more likely to report incidents.
Dyfed-Powys Police set up their first ever rural crime team in June 2018.
“We have a team in place looking at this major issue and a very active Twitter page,” said Mr Taylor.
“It’s just the farming community have the confidence to report these matters. They have got to the stage now where, statistically, they are having a report every other day so there is a heck of a lot coming in.”
It is not just one single breed of dog causing the problems. Collies, labradors and labradoodles, jack russells and huskies have all been spotted attacking sheep.
In 2016, there was a huge rise in the number of huskies savaging sheep, with a third of all attacks being husky-related, said Mr Taylor.
He put it down to the Game of Thrones effect. The airing of the popular fantasy series prompted many people to head out and buy a husky.
“We asked dog owners, who said they bought these types of dogs because of Game of Thrones,” he said.
But while this trend seems to have subsided, it is still irresponsible dogowners who are to blame.
“It’s all down to irresponsible dog-owners,” said Mr Taylor.
“Some dogs slip the lead; others are left home alone all day and escape into the fields. Then they just do what comes naturally.
“Sometimes they might come home after a day at work and not even know what their dog has done.”
On October 5, 2018, a sheep and a dog plunged over a cliff to their death on Great Orme, in Llandudno, north Wales.
It happened after the dog slipped its lead and chased the sheep over the cliff edge. In a controver- sial tweet, showing the chilling photo of the dead animals lying side by side on the road, Mr Taylor hoped to educate dog owners of what dogs are capable of.
For those farmers left with dying sheep, they know the consequences only too well.
Fiona Davies, who farms the hills of Snowdonia, has kept sheep for 30 years. But the start of her sheep-breeding career was nearly ended by a savage dog.
She said: “When I was younger, having built up my own small flock, I decided to spend my ‘sheep earned’ money on some pedigree Ryeland sheep.
“My first born pedigree lamb was a stonking big ram lamb. He was also my first experience of dog car- . nage. He was killed by a dog that had jumped into the field over a stone wall.
“I can remember how upset I was, the frustration of losing him and the worry of it happening again. It put me off spending lots of money on pedigree animals when, no matter how well looked after they were, a dog in the field for a few minutes could cause so much damage.” Her experience is shared on the National Sheep Association website to raise awareness of the problem.
Ms Davies added that dogs who attack sheep are often put down as a result, something which saddens her.
“If you take your dog for a walk in the countryside, please keep it under control,” she said.
For Mr Taylor, has got to change.
“I am the UK Chair of the Livestock Police Priority Group that is looking to promote responsible dog ownership and seek an amendment to the law as this issue is affecting our farming communities throughout Wales,” he said.
“The Livestock Act 1953 is antiquated and does not fit with 2018.” the law
The Government is very clear that it is against the law to let a dog be dangerously out of control anywhere - whether in a private property or in a public place.
“Dangerously out of control” can refer to any situation where the dog injures someone or makes someone worried that it might injure them.
A court can also deem a dog dangerously out of control if it attacks another animal or if the owner of an animal thinks they could be injured if they tried to stop your dog attacking their animal. It is also important to note that a farmer is allowed to kill your dog if it is worrying their livestock.
If a dog worries sheep on agricultural land in England and Wales, the person in charge of the dog is guilty of an offence under the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953.
The Act considers sheep worrying to include an attack on sheep, as well as chasing them in a way which may cause suffering, injury and abortion or loss of produce. It also encompasses attacking sheep and being at large, such as not being on a lead or otherwise under close control, in a field or enclosure in which there are sheep.
Additionally, the Countryside and Right of Way Act (CROW), also holds protections for such livestock. Although this Act allows anyone on to open access land for recreation, it states that the public can only go on this land if they keep dogs on a fixed lead of two metres or less when near livestock.
The owner of open access land can close areas containing sheep to dogs for up to six weeks once a year, as a safeguard during lambing – though this restriction does not apply to trained guide and hearing dogs.