New proposals to reduce the risk of attacks on livestock is welcomed by farmers across Lincolnshire
Police will be given greater powers to crack down on irresponsible dog owners whose pets attack livestock under proposals being brought forward by a Tory former environment secretary.
To help protect Livestock farmers across Lincolnshire and Newark - new proposals are being drawn up which would give police greater powers to catch and prosecute irresponsible dog owners,
In the plans - which will be debated on in the new year - police will be better able to seize, collect DNA and even get dental impressions of those offending in hopes to tackle the issues of livestock worrying and attacks
Louth Sheep farmer and Lincolnshire's NFU Chair , Nick Dowler says he welcomes the plans:
"I'm quite pleased that this has now come to the fore. It's an ongoing issue. We've long been troubled by dogs not under control. The vast majority of walkers in the countryside with their dogs do take note that there's livestock in the field. Then they put the dog on a lead.However, there are minorities, a small minority who seem to think it's fine with the thinking of 'ohh well my dog won't hurt anything'. But in fact, that's not always the case.
"Once the dogs distracted and realized that sheep are running, he or she is likely to chase after those sheep, and at certain times of the year, even if the sheep are not injured, it can cause abortions and all sorts of problems, so it was about time that something was done about this.
"A lot of colleagues have suffered not only financial loss by losing sheep this way and but also the trauma of it all. Arriving to find that one of your sheep dead or you've lost several lambs. It's not good at all.
"So, to my mind, legislation needed to be brought in and I'm pleased at last to see that it is at least going to be discussed."
Therese Coffey is planning to introduce these measures. She said they would make it easier for the police to catch offenders and secure more prosecutions.
It follows the Government's decision earlier this year to pause plans for a raft of new animal welfare protections, which included measures intended to strengthen and expand laws on livestock worrying.
Ms Coffey told the PA news agency she has been working with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and so is confident her proposals will have Government support.
Ms Coffey's plans are being brought forward in a Private Member's Bill - which tend to be shorter and more narrow in scope than Government legislation - and while still being finalised, will not include all the measures the Government had proposed for livestock worrying.
Expanding the list of farmed animals protected by the law to species such as emus and llamas was proposed by the Government, but Ms Coffey said her Bill will instead focus on expanding police powers to protect "what is currently defined as livestock".
She said: "The principal issue is to basically increase powers for the police to be able to make it easier for them... so that can be about increasing powers for seizure, giving them powers to get DNA, making it easier to collect evidence like dental impressions, so we're going to make it easier for the police to do their job.
"We're giving police more of the powers that they've asked for to be able to tackle irresponsible owners."
She said it was a "concern expressed by many farmers" that too many offenders are going unpunished, and said she hoped by strengthening the law it would become a "significant deterrent".
Ms Coffey said some dog owners need to be "far more responsible about the countryside, and in particular, about the attacks on other animals".
She said: "When there are live animals around, keep your dog on a lead - be responsible."
"I think farmers should be able to allow for their flocks to get around their lands without having to worry constantly about dangerous dogs. And this is just the way to make it easier for the police to catch the offenders and get prosecutions," she added.
Ms Coffey's Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Bill aims to amend the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953, and is currently listed for its second reading - the first debate on the Bill in the Commons - on February 2.
Government plans to strengthen the law on livestock worrying - announced in June 2021, prior to Ms Coffey becoming environment secretary - stalled when the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was withdrawn in June this year.
Raising concerns that the flagship Bill on animal welfare was at risk from "scope creep", the Government said at the time it would instead focus on using single-issue legislation to introduce some of the proposed measures.
A Defra spokesperson said:
"We fully understand the devastating impact that livestock worrying can have on farmers and animals, as well as the financial implications.
"Existing legislation provides a specific offence of allowing a dog to worry livestock with a maximum fine of £1,000.
"All reported crimes should be taken seriously, investigated and, where appropriate, taken through the courts and met with tough sentences."