THERE seems to be a growing number of instances of sheep worrying during 2017. Sheep farmers have been facing a growing number dog attacks on livestock costing approximately £ 1.6 million in costs. New figures have revealed around 7 % of dog owners have admitted to letting their dogs chase farm animals, with 60 % saying they’ ve allowed their animals to wander off the lead around livestock. Insurance experts have said this has contributed to the jump in claims over the last two years. What many owners don’ t seem to know or understand is that it’ s a criminal offence to allow dogs to freely roam off the lead around livestock.

In North Wales, over the last four years there have been 469 separate attacks. The Rural Crime team started recording the incidents four years ago, when they noticed an increase,

yet there hasn’ t been a requirement by police forces to record incidents of sheep worrying by the Home Office until recently. Rob Taylor of the North Wales Rural Crime team said one of the key elements to tackling this issue is education. Which is why they are working closely with local education establishments to help promote the‘ L. E. A. D’( Livestock Education and Dogs) campaign.

All farmers want the public to enjoy the countryside, and they appreciate that a lot of people are dog owners who want to enjoy walks with their dogs. Yet dog owners need to understand that sheep are valuable assets and any loss of animals will have a detrimental effect on farmers livelihood. It will also be very distressing for farmers to discover any animals that have died as a direct result of sheep worrying.

A dog’ s instinct will be to chase, even the most well behaved

. Therefore, it’ s essential for dogs to be kept on a lead at all times. A sheep doesn’ t need to be savaged to die during an incident with an out of control dog. The mere fact of being chased can cause them to die through stress and heart failure. There is also the possibility of injury caused trying to escape whilst in a blind panic. Dogs chasing ewes could also cause those animals who are pregnant to miscarry the lamb as well as the mis-mothering of lambs who become lost during an attack.

It’ s considered to be an offence to allow a dog to worry and the dog owner will be held responsible. In some situations, the farmer will be within their legal right to shoot the dog that’ s endangering a flock of sheep.

The Dogs( Protection of Livestock) Act 1953 states that;‘ if a dog worries sheep on agricultural land, the owner / or person in charge of the dog is guilty of a

criminal offence. If a dog worries livestock on any agricultural land, the owner of the dog, and if it is overseen by a person other than its owner, that person shall be guilty of an offence.’

One of the worst incidents of sheep worrying was in 2016, where more than 100 sheep

were killed. The large number of sheep, many of whom were pregnant, were discovered herded near a fence, all dead from either shock or crush injuries. The loss of sheep was estimated to be worth approximately £ 17,000. Local police were convinced the deaths were caused by a dog or dogs.

Recently a cross party parliamentary group have suggested that dog owners should receive higher penalties under new legislation. One of those suggestions would be to raise the maximum penalty awarded for persistent or repeat offenders in attempt to act as more of a deterrent.

A recent incident has highlighted that Farmers should try to avoid direct confrontation with offenders. A farmer recently was fined for breach of the peace, after a heated exchange with a dog owner that had allowed his dog to worry sheep belonging to the farmer. The police charged