Sheep across the county will be bearing lambs in a few months’ time, and Police are urging people to take care now to ensure they are not disturbing pregnant ewes. Across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Police regularly receive reports of livestock worrying involving dogs off leads. Island Echo has reported on a number of incidents in recent years. Livestock worrying is when a dog attacks or chases livestock on agricultural land or is at large in a field with sheep, which can result in significant injury or suffering and in the worst cases, death of the animals involved. This also has devastating consequences for livestock keepers, causing personal distress as well as significant financial costs. Under the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953, it is a criminal offence for a dog to actively worry livestock and dog owners risk prosecution. A farmer can shoot and kill a dog if it is worrying or attacking their animals. Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary says it recognises that the majority of dog owners walk their dogs in a responsible manner, but unfortunately, there are a small minority whose recklessness puts the welfare of other animals at risk. Some key points to bear in mind this time of year to help with the welfare of sheep…
- If you come across a sheep on its back, try to roll it over and raise the alarm with the farmer if this is possible.
- It is so important to keep dogs either on leads or under close control around livestock.
- If you are walking your dog in a field and there is no livestock, please keep the dog in sight at all times, be aware of what it is doing, and be confident it will return to you promptly on command. If you cannot be confident of this, the dog should not be off the lead.
- Ensure the dog does not stray off the path or area where you have right of access.
- It is a criminal offence for a dog to actively worry livestock. We want owners to be aware that in such instances, the owner or person in control of the dog can be prosecuted, and the dog can by shot by the farmer to end an attack.
I’m often shocked at the number of dog walkers who have dogs off leads on country footpaths & clearly can’t control them. Just today I saw one chase a runner very aggressively and I’ve seen many issues with other users of paths & bridleways.
If a dog doesn’t come when called its out of control, and if it’s near livestock, a farmer has the right to defend his animals.
So please dog walkers, if you are on country footpaths, keep your dog safe by keeping it on a lead.
You can’t go for a walk In the countryside or on the beach without being harassed by an off the lead dog these days.
A message to these owners: I RESERVE THE RIGHT TO DEFEND MYSELF.
Get yourself some alpine walking sticks. A quick flick on the nose with one will divert any dog’s attention elsewhere.
If a dog doesn’t have perfect recall, this means going straight back to their owner first time when they are called, they should NOT BE OFF LEAD. Simple. Too many irresponsible owners who think it’s their right to let their dogs off and to hell with the consequences. WRONG attitude.
If you are a genuine dog lover you will keep your dog on a lead not only near livestock but other dog walkers, cliffs and general public. If you do let your dog off its lead
and it gets shot by a farmer it will be your fault and no one else’s so don’t expect any sympathy. KEEP YOUR DOG ON A LEAD!!!
I feel sorry for the poor dogs who have thick and uncaring owners who think it’s ok to let their dog off lead around livestock. The farmers should come out with their shotguns, fire 1 warning shot. This should be enough to wake the stupid owner up. If dogs are worrying or attacking their livestock, shoot them. They are perfectly allowed to by law to do so.
Will the police also be ensuring calves are not kept in fields with rights of way?
You are joking, of course.