Law change to give police more power to tackle 'sheep worrying' in Dales
Amendments to the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill were introduced on Tuesday (8 June).
Changes to the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill will allow police to deal more effectively with incidents of sheep worrying in the Dales.
The legislation will mean a wider variety of animal species will be protected by law, including llamas and donkeys, and allow police greater accessibility to seize dogs following attacks.
It will also permit police to collect more evidence on scene to aid in the investigation and prosecution of these cases.
Sheep worrying in the Dales seriously impacts livestock and farmers, causing high levels of trauma, potential injury and loss of life.
North Yorkshire Police’s Rural Task Force have been supplying posters to farmers, and speaking to walkers about the dangers surrounding losing control of their dogs.
Impact on farmers "a double whammy"
Laurie Norris, from the National Farmers Union, spoke of how traumatic dog attacks are for farmers, and outlined the implications for their livelihoods once faced with potential vet bills or loss of livestock.
She said: “A lot of the time, farmers have spent years and years breeding a particular breed of sheep, so it’s a double whammy: it’s the financial impact, it’s the loss of stock, but there’s also the emotional value, as well, that they’ve invested in them.”
However, there are questions as to whether the changes take the bill far enough, as Laurie expressed her concerns over the value of fines walkers have to pay when their dog chases or attacks sheep.
She also had questions over the wording chosen, as guidelines state dogs must be kept “under close control”, rather than specifying the use of a lead.
Laurie continued: “What we would like to see is it to become the law that you should have your dog on a lead around livestock at all times, and that should be backed up by much heftier fines, because, I think at the moment, the fines are not a particular deterrent.”
Environment Secretary George Eustice said: "The Kept Animals Bill will bring in some of the world’s highest and strongest protections for pets, livestock and kept wild animals.
"As an independent nation outside the EU we are now able to go further than ever on animal welfare by banning the export of live animal exports for slaughter and fattening, prohibiting keeping primates as pets and bringing in new powers to tackle puppy smuggling.
"This builds on the launch of our Action Plan for Animal Welfare and Animal Sentience Bill last month as part of our work to build on our status as a world leader on animal welfare."