Herts farmer urges owners to keep dogs under control amid rise in livestock attacks
He's calling on owners to watch their dogs to avoid incidents
Last updated 18th Mar 2024
A farmer in Hertfordshire is calling on dog owners to better watch their dogs after reporting an increase in the number of sheep attacked on his land.
Angus MacKay, third generation farmer, works on Symondshyde Farm near Hitchin, where he looks after over 600 ewes on 400 acres of grazing spreading across 30 fields.
The increase is attacks on his animals is believed to be partly caused by a rise in dog ownership during the coronavirus lockdown.
"...even a small dog can do a lot of damage to sheep."
Mr MacKay said: "You see one thing where you have houses with gardens that are against the field and where the dog is let out into the garden, but if the garden is not completely secure and gets into the field and it can be a few hours until someone notices, and even a small dog can do a lot of damage to sheep."
"The second problem we're seeing in built-up areas is when people are out walking their dogs either through the field or near the field and the dog gets out of control and gets in with the sheep."
Since 2016, Mr MacKay lost around 25 ewes to dog attacks, which has cost his farm around £15,000.
The costs of dog attacks can vary from livestock loss caused by fatal attacks and abortions caused by stress to the animal, to veterinary cost.
"...we picked up about 70 aborted foetuses in the field and around ten of the ewes went on to die of complications."
He said: "There's really two effects, the first one is a physical effect where the dog actually mauls the sheep, and the second effect is the silent one which is the effect of the stress on the animals.
"While they are pregnant, a big stressful event like a dog getting in and chasing them around can lead to abortion."
"One of our worst dog attacks, he got in with a group of about a hundred ewes and it spent all day chasing them around, and over the next five days we picked up about 70 aborted foetuses in the field and around ten of the ewes went on to die of complications."
Mr MacKay is amongst many farmers, like the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), urging dog owners to keep their pets on leads around livestock, especially with the lambing season under way.
Across the country, the NFU reports farm animals worth an estimated £2.4 million were severely injured or killed by dogs in 2023, which is up nearly 30% from the previous year.