Clydesdale farmer finds sheep killed in dog attack

Photos of the dead sheep are too gruesome to use in a local newspaper - the bloodstained sheep pictured is one of the survivors of the attack early on Monday morning.

Five sheep - just a year old and not ready to have lambs yet - were in a paddock which the family thought was safely fenced against marauders, but a dog has got in.

“My father and I went down about 10am and the two killed were still warm, so it must have happened around daybreak,” said the farmer.

“Two were killed, but one is in a state of severe shock just now and I would be very surprised if it survives.”

The others had been given antibiotics and were being kept indoors in a shed for the time being.

The dog had gone for the throats of the animals.

Only last Tuesday, March 1, a three-month Police Scotland campaign was launched to raise awaress among dog owners about the devastating effects of lifestock worrying; and on Monday morning the police attended at the farm 15 minutes after the incident was reported. Their investigations include DNA sampling.

But no matter what happens next, the farmer is out of pocket. The two dead sheep may have been worth £100 to $150 each, but they had been kept for future breeding and in the next three years they would have been expected to produce lambs each spring, a further loss to the farm.

The farmer too warned dog owners to remember their responsibilities - and that farmers had the right to shoot dogs to protect their livestock.

The national campaign, launched as lambing got underway, includes the National Farmers Union of Scotland, and aims to highlight the devastating impact of livestock worrying and the damage dogs can do even without attacking, and to encourage owners to keep dogs under control.