Farmers are warning that dog attacks on livestock are reaching “epidemic proportions” as they prepare for an increase in dog attacks that are reaching the peak of the calving season.
An increase in dog ownership during the pandemic, especially among inexperienced dog owners, caused the cost of dog attacks on cattle to rise 10% last year, to £ 1.3 million, according to a survey published by the NFU Mutual.
Rebecca Davidson, the insurer’s rural affairs expert, said: “It is a critical time on the agricultural calendar and there is widespread concern, as we enter the high calving season, that there will be an increase in new visitors who simply do not know Field or how your dog will behave around farm animals. “
The start of the farrowing season was difficult for farmer Gordon Wyeth due to pet dog attacks on his sheep. He estimates that the number of attacks has doubled since the blockade began. “We had a ram that was bitten in the throat and died, we had six lambs [killed], I think it was the next day. And then we had a husky chasing lamb sheep the next day. A sheep died after that, ”he said. “The problem is reaching epidemic proportions. It is much worse than ever. “
The revised Field Code, published on April 1, advises visitors to keep their dogs “under control and in sight” – guidelines that farmers fear will not go far enough to educate dog owners.
It is a criminal offense for a dog to chase or attack livestock, known as “worrying”, and the owners are liable for a £ 1,000 fine, even if the dog appears to do no harm.
Davidson said: “Even if a dog does not make physical contact, the anguish and tiredness of the chase can cause the sheep to die or miscarry.
These attacks cause unbearable suffering for farm animals, as well as enormous anxiety for farmers and their families as they deal with the consequences. “
Wyeth, who is one of Britain’s largest sheep farmers with 12,000 sheep in southern England, suffered more than most.
In one attack in 2016, he lost 116 sheep and lambs, which is considered the worst attack on record in the UK and certainly his biggest loss in 35 years of sheep farming.
He said: “They were pushed into a ravine and smothered. We have just found a large pile of dead sheep pushed against the gate. We never found the dog for that one.
“We were mortified. When you have a lot of animals, you get used to death and everything, but it’s a different kind of feeling – it’s emotional when it’s a waste and the animals are suffering ”.
He said that the signs placed around the farm are often removed by dog walkers and that the police seem reluctant to act after the attacks.
The head of the National Council of Chiefs of Police for rural and wildlife crimes, Chief of Police Darren Martland, said that police forces are “strengthening their response to rural crime” and urged rural communities to be “our eyes and ears” .
But despite concern about livestock being a crime, Wyeth left dog owners fighting both in civil courts and in their own fields. He said, “You would be surprised at the abuse we get when we pull someone up for not having their dogs on their leashes.”
Wyeth says he loves dogs and he owns 10 dogs himself. He blames the owners for the attacks, adding: “Bad dogs don’t exist, they are just bad owners”.
Dr. Jenna Kiddie, head of canine behavior at the Dogs Trust, warned all dog owners to be aware of the sight, sound, smell or even expectation of the cattle.
She said: “It is important to remember that chasing is part of a dog’s normal behavior and that any dog is capable of chasing, regardless of breed, type, age or size.”
But in addition to the damage their dogs can cause and the risk of being fined, owners have another reason to worry.
The law protects farmers who shoot dogs that are chasing cattle, and Wyeth has shot pet dogs in the past. He said, “It makes you feel bad for weeks, it sucks.”
But he added: “We just started giving birth, so I take my gun with me. I can guarantee you, in the next two or three weeks, a dog will attack my sheep and I will shoot him. “