Dog owners warned their pets could be destroyed - if they fail to behave in country
New campaign is launched as number of livestock worrying cases soar
Last updated 8th Jan 2019
Dog owners are being warned their pets could be shot if they fail to behave responsibly in the countryside.
It comes as new figures show police recorded 358 cases of livestock worrying in Scotland over the last 12 months - that’s a jump of 60 per cent in just two years.
However, Chief Superintendent John McKenzie, who’s leading the "Your dog - Your responsibility" initiative, believes many more are going unreported.
And he's encouraging more people to report attacks to help them understand just how widespread the problem is.
Chief Superintendent McKenzie, who chairs the Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime (SPARC), said: "Tackling livestock attacks is an important issue and remains a priority for SPARC.
"Further work requires to be done in highlighting not just the message about an owner or person responsible keeping a dog on a lead if there is livestock nearby, but a more general awareness message regarding responsible dog ownership, both in the home and when outside.
"To that end, SPARC is launching this campaign with key messages of of awareness raising, education and prevention."
A five-month multi-agency campaign to highlight the reality of livestock attacks and trauma by dogs was launched today (Tuesday) at Penicuik House in Midlothian.
SPARC is made up of partners from across the rural community, including Police Scotland, NFU Scotland, Scottish Land and Estates and NFU Mutual.
Welcoming the new initiative, Tim Price, Rural Affairs Specialist at NFU Mutual, said: “As the insurer of most of Scotland’s farmers we are acutely aware of the distress and financial impact dog attacks on livestock are having.
“Our claims figures show that dog attacks on sheep and cattle in Scotland quadrupled in in the last two years and are running at an all-time high – costing Scottish agriculture over £300,000 a year.
“We are particularly concerned that many recent attacks appear to involve dogs whose owners allow them to roam unsupervised from their homes and are either unaware or unconcerned that they are killing and injuring sheep.
“We believe a strong co-ordinated approach involving Police Scotland, the NFU, farmers and responsible dog owners is required to tackle this problem."
Gemma Cooper, NFU Scotland’s Head of Policy, says there's no excuse for dog owners allowing their dogs to worry livestock.
When asked what happens when they fail to heed the message, she said: "Ultimately farmers do have the right to shoot a dog that is worrying sheep, it's a last resort but it is possible. And, unfortunately, we have seen cases in recent times where farmers have had no other choice.
"The trauma and suffering caused by livestock worrying is a real and growing issue for the agricultural industry.
"So, it's a real risk you run, you have to control your dog and, if you don't, the repercussions for you could be that that dog is destroyed."
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