Sheep mauled by dog in spate of attacks
A sheep farmer in Suffolk faces a constant battle in protecting her sheep against dog attacks, with the latest sheep to suffer severe injuries.
Police signage is regularly torn down, farm gates have had dog faeces rubbed onto the latch and damage has been caused to fencing.
Farming various parts of land in Flatford, East Bergholt, Wenham and the Holbrook area, the land has footpaths and rights of way going across it.
Over the last few years livestock incidents involving her sheep have increased, resulting in financial loss and loss of time to care for the injured animals.
Sometimes the damage caused is not visible until later. A dog chasing a pregnant ewe for instance can cause the ewe to abort it’s young, which has an impact for the following year.
The Dog (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953 states that it is an offence for a dog to be off its lead whilst in a field containing sheep.
Failure to do so could result in prosecution and fines.