Prize-winning flock killed after dog attack

Dog attacks on a Kent farm could lead to an entire flock of prize-winning sheep being destroyed.

Livestock farmer John Shrubsall may be forced to put down his flock of Badger Face and Zwartbles sheep after two dogs got into a field and attacked the animals.

The dogs, a Rottweiller and Dogue De Bordeaux, were shot after the attack on Sunday morning (25 October) on farmland in Eastling, which left one sheep dead and several others injured.

Four of the ten-strong flock have since been destroyed and Mr Shrubsall fears the remaining animals will have to be killed, forcing him to pay thousands of pounds to replace them.

“They were this year’s lambs in the flock and we have been showing them over the summer,” said Mr Shrubsall, who is a judge and inspector for the Badger Face Welsh Mountain Sheep Society.

“They are worth a lot of money to me, it’s devastating.”

Mr Shrubsall said the dogs’ owners had not been identified, but he urged other owners to keep their dogs under control.

“It’s a terrible situation. Showing these sheep was something we did as a family, with my wife and daughter Gail.

“We are dedicated to the industry and we’ve spent years perfecting these bloodlines.

“It’s all been destroyed in the space of 10 minutes.”