When man's best friend goes feral - the danger of dog attacks on livestock

Mark Jackson, agricultural solicitor at Cartmell Shepherd Solicitors examines what you can do and possible changes to the law.

- Mark Jackson

With the turn of the new year, thoughts naturally turn to Spring and the expectation of longer days, flowers in bud and lambs gambolling in fields.

Lambing season is a joyous, if tiring, time for many sheep farmers. It is the product of a long, hard year of work when all the planning and preparation finally comes to fruition. However, the scene is not always as bucolic as it might seem.

Dog attacks on sheep and newborn lambs can have a devastating impact, with harrowing reports of animals maimed or killed, and pregnant ewes aborting due to the distress caused by being chased by out of control dogs.

The NFU Mutual estimates that livestock worth £1.52 million were injured or killed by dogs in the UK in 2021, up from 1.3 million the previous year.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!

With dog attacks on the rise, it is important that smallholders know their rights under the law and how to challenge dog owners for compensation. While there is no absolute requirement for a dog owner to keep a dog on a lead when using a public right of way, there are various sanctions which can apply to the owner if the dog is not under control.

The Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953 states that if a dog worries livestock whilst on agricultural land, the owner or the person in charge of the dog, is guilty of a criminal offence. The term 'worrying' is given a wide meaning by the Act. It includes: attacking, chasing in a way to cause reasonable injury, or being at large in a field containing livestock. In other words, a dog just being off the lead in a field of sheep could create a crime.