A farmer is appealing to owners to keep dogs on leads after attacks have left several sheep dead or mutilated. Gordon Wyeth, based at Maple Farm in Ropley, is a commercial sheep farmer of 25 years experience whose livelihood hinges on the success of the lambing season. Dogs kill the sheep they are chasing and terrify the whole flock, leading to injury and – at this time of year when the ewes are about to give birth – to aborted lambs. Mr Wyeth said while an individual sheep can fetch upward of £100 when in lamb, sheep worrying can jeopardise the lambing of an entire flock, with lambs aborted or stillborn, or single rather than multiple births. "One sheep worrying can result in a loss of thousands of pounds," said Mr Wyeth who has had countless dog attacks on his flocks in the past year. He said: "We run 6,500 ewes ourselves and have nearly 10,000 sheep in different places around Hampshire and near Farnham, across the border in Surrey. A lot of the land is crossed by footpaths where people walk dogs and few keep them on a lead." Last week alone Mr Wyeth had to deal with three incidents. Early on Sunday morning (January 13) a black and white dog was seen chasing a flock of 40 ewes at Headley Wood Farm in Kingsley. They had been rounded up into a corner and one sheep had been bowled over the fence with its ears ripped off. On Monday (January 14) Mr Wyeth spotted a dog chasing sheep at a farm in Chineham. He reprimanded the owner who appeared not to recognise that his pet was committing an offence. And at around 8am last Friday a sheep was found hobbling up the road in Ropley with both its ears missing after a run-in with a dog. On Boxing Day Mr Wyeth had two sheep killed at Blacklands Farm near Basingstoke. And on another occasion last year, dogs chased some of his sheep into a river at Kingsley. But the worst attack was at Four Marks last April when an ewe, in lamb with twins, had her throat ripped out. "The suffering of this sheep was terrible – she was still breathing when she was found, but we had to have her destroyed and we lost the lambs as well," said Mr Wyeth who warned owners that he does carry a gun and if he sees dogs worrying sheep he is entitled by law to shoot them. Richard Buer, Alton and Petersfield National Farmers' Union group secretary, said livestock worrying is very distressing to farmers and costs the industry around £2m per year. He pointed out that if a dog worries livestock, the owner or the person responsible for the dog at the time is guilty of an offence under the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953 and may be sued for compensation by the farmer. The farmer is allowed to shoot the dog. Mr Buer said: "Owners forget that the friendly family pet can turn wolf. But they should remember that the law allows farmers to shoot dogs that are threatening livestock. "People find it hard to believe that their pet can be a hazard to livestock. But whatever their temperament, dogs have a chase instinct that can be triggered by the sight or movement of farm animals. That's why it is so important to keep dogs on leads near livestock and under control at all times." The NFU has launched a poster campaign. Farmers can get free, durable signs to erect near paths which read: "Even your dog can scare or harm farm animals. Please put it on a lead near livestock." Call the NFU on 01730 711950.
