'Distracted' dog owners refuse to accept threat to livestock

Nearly two thirds of owners say they let their dog roam off-lead in the countryside but almost four in ten admit their pets do not always come back when called

Warning this article contains upsetting Images.

Dog owners who believe their pets would never attack farm animals are putting sheep at risk, according to new research from NFU Mutual.

NFU Mutual’s latest survey of over 1,100 dog owners found despite 64 per cent of owners admitting their dog chases animals, almost half believe their dog is not capable of injuring or killing livestock.

And dog attacks on UK farm animals cost 1.8 million in 2022, based on NFU Mutual claims data.

Dog owners were also unaware that the distress and exhaustion caused even when a dog does not make contact with a sheep can trigger a pregnant ewe to die or miscarry and lambs to be separated from their mothers.

Nearly two thirds of owners (64 per cent) say they let their dog roam off-lead in the countryside. However, almost four in ten (39 per cent) admit that their pets do not always come back when called.

Distraction

There were reports dog walkers are becoming more distracted, often on their phones with their pets out of sight.

NFU Mutual also highlighted the boom in dog ownership during the pandemic where many people purchased dogs, but may not have properly trained them.

The insurer said farmers near cities, towns and tourist areas were living in fear of repeat attacks and called on owners to keep their dog on a lead near livestock.

Farming organisations, including Farmers Guardian, have repeatedly called for tougher penalties and new laws to be brought in to help tackle the problem of sheep worrying, with the Kept Animals Bill having been going through Parliament since 2021.

There have also been calls for restrictions on dog ownership.

Industry figures said fines need to increase, as is the case in Scotland, where people can now be fined up to 40,000, but National Sheep Association chief executive Phil Stocker said Defra and the Government have rejected higher fines.

“The power of a big fine is a deterrent,” Mr Stocker said, adding the association’s surveys of members showed awareness that dogs should be on leads was pretty poor and education could only go so far.

Costs

Dog attacks on farm animals cost 1.8 million in 2022, based on NFU Mutual claims data. But the stress and anxiety the problem causes sheep farmers was even more acute.

Speaking on FG’s Over the Farm Gate podcast, Rob Taylor, Wales Rural and Wildlife Police Crime Co-ordinator, added it took a toll on everyone involved, from the injured animals and affected farmer, to those who have to appear in court or see their dog destroyed, and the police attending the scene.

Mr Taylor said: “Very often we see sheep still alive with limbs hanging off or innards hanging out.”

Mr Stocker agreed, adding he knew of farmers who were unable to leave their farm at weekends or bank holidays for fear of an attack as they happened regularly.

In England, the Midlands was the worst-hit region by cost, with dog attacks on livestock costing an estimated 313,000, followed by the South West at 273,000.

Newquay farmer Bob Coad has lost count of the numerous sheep which have been attacked or driven over the edge of the cliffs by dogs on the National Trust land he farms at Kelsey Head.

Cliffs

Five years ago, Mr Coad lost 50 sheep during the summer.

“That summer five years ago was just dreadful. Every other day I was getting a phone call to say there was a savaged lamb or sheep.

“Sometimes the animal is in an awful state too, and they are only the ones that you find. Some get washed away.

“You almost get hardened to it after a while, I guess.”

“That summer five years ago was just dreadful. Every other day I was getting a phone call to say there was a savaged lamb or sheep.

“Sometimes the animal is in an awful state too, and they are only the ones that you find. Some get washed away.

“You almost get hardened to it after a while, I guess.”

Dog attacks on the farm’s livestock date back to when his father first took over the farm in 1943.

In the 60s, there was an incident where 200 of his father’s sheep were chased down a steep section of cliff by four dogs running free. Miraculously they all survived, as the tide was out.

But over the following years, many more sheep have not been so lucky, falling victim to dog attacks and becoming seriously injured or killed.

As his 250-acre headland farm is on the South West Coast Path, it attracts a lot of dog owners, some of whom still choose not to have them on a lead around other animals.

He urged them to think again.

“All dog walkers have to do is keep their pet on a lead where there is livestock. It is common sense really,” he said, adding it was a small minority who refused and would not accept their dog could injure or kill another animal.

Sheep milk

Nicola Robinson and Martin Gott currently milk 220 sheep over 60 acres at Holker Farm in Cark near Grange-over-Sands in Cumbria, where they make a sheep’s milk cheese called St James.

They are one of about only 30-45 sheep dairy farms in the UK.

Lambing is in January and May, with lambs all hand-reared.

A dog attack resulted in the death of 28 hand-reared lambs which were being raised for their milking flock.

After being painstakingly hand-reared in a barn for the first few months of their lives the lambs were put outside once they were old enough and the weather had brightened up.

But despite there being no public access across their land, a neighbour spotted two yellow-coloured dogs straying across the fields and raised the alarm.

“The terrified lambs jumped the dyke to escape the attack, landing in a difficult place where some were trapped and drowned or suffocated,” Ms Robinson said.

“We had to recover their swollen bodies from the river. We had hand-reared the lambs ourselves and it was so awful.

“As a result of the attack we are taking a reduced flock forward, which has had a serious effect on our sheep cheese business.”