National sheep committee chair John Lynskey has appealed to dog owners to control their animals at all times after a string of horrific attacks on sheep, many of which were pregnant.
He reminded pet owners that it is their responsibility to ensure their animals are under control regardless of the time of day and that they can be held responsible for losses involved in dog attacks, with serious financial and legal consequences.
The warning comes after up to 30 sheep were savagely killed in a particularly bad attack in Rathvilly, Co Carlow.
However, it is a problem across the country, with incidents in Wicklow, Tipperary, and Down recently.
Dangerous time of the year
Mr Lynskey also said “farmers have a right to protect their sheep flock and can shoot a dog worrying, or about to worry, their flock.
“There are far too many dog owners not taking the responsibility that goes with owning a pet.”
With lambing season started, this time of the year is particularly dangerous and pregnant ewes on the point of lambing are especially vulnerable to dog attacks.
Sheep attacked in Co. Down
There are 34,000 sheep farmers in the country who are currently lambing down 2.4 million ewes.
Dog attacks have the potential to cause destruction on a huge scale, as seen in England earlier this week, when 116 sheep were killed in the UK’s worst suspected dog attack in living memory.
John Lynskey said that one of the biggest problems is “the lack of information on what farmers should do, who they should contact and where can they get help”.
New laws
New legislation regarding microchipping will be effective from 31 March.
All dogs, regardless of age, must be microchipped, which will carry details of the dog, the owner’s name, address and contact details.
Figures from the IFA show there are 300 to 400 dog attacks per year, with 3,000 to 4,000 sheep injured or killed – an average of 11 per attack.
Results of Dog Attack on Sheep Near Chichester
(Source – Irish Farmers Journal – Amy Mc Shane – 10/03/2016)
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