Sheep farmer’s despair after 7 dog attacks

A pedigree breeder says seven dog attacks on his sheep since November have left him frustrated at the lack of awareness among dog owners and disappointed there has not been a tougher response from the police.

Craig Forsyth, who farms on the Bedfordshire/Buckinghamshire border, said he had been the victim of a series of horrific incidents over the past two months, the worst of which led to the death of five in-lamb ewes and abortions in another two.

It is thought the attacks involve dogs which stray onto his land when they are being walked off-lead in a nearby country park, close to the town of Leighton Buzzard.

See also: Sheep worrying remains unacceptably high

Craig Forsyth has suffered seven attacks on his pedigree sheep since November

Mr Forsyth, who runs about 50 cattle and 500 sheep – predominantly pedigree Charollais, told Farmers Weekly that until November he had not suffered a dog attack for 15 years.

Vigils

But the incidents have now become so frequent that he and his brother are staging vigils at 4.30am every day so they can monitor dog walkers in the area and talk to them about the need to keep dogs under control.

This had left him surviving on about four hours sleep a night as he was doing this at the same time as working full-time as a sales representative, looking after his family and lambing.

“It has got to the point where I could happily sell up because of the impact of Schmallenberg and these dog attacks,” he said.

“I have been trying to raise public awareness and to get the police involved but I am getting no resolution.”

Mr Forsyth said the dogs were getting through three sets of fencing to reach the sheep, including a six strand barbed-wire fence, suggesting that dog walkers were letting their dogs off the lead and out of their sight.

He had made repeated calls to the police, who had agreed to put up warning signs, but he felt more could be done.

“We had one man with a Husky dog who was chasing the sheep in the field. The police didn’t come out, but told him later to write a letter of apology. I don’t think that is a hard enough line given what we’ve gone through.”

Police alert

Bedfordshire Police issued an alert on 30 January in response to what it called “several sheep worrying incidents”, which has resulted in the loss of livestock.

Inspector Tracey Day said: “Incidents like these have devastating effects on farmers, especially as we are soon approaching lambing season.

“Causing death, injury or distress to sheep could also affect unborn lambs.

“We have received reports from around the county of dogs being seen on private land where there is livestock.

“We would urge all dog owners to consider their walking routes and avoid private land, or anywhere where sheep or other livestock may be grazing.

“Walkers should always ensure their dogs are on a lead if livestock are present in order to prevent such incidents from occurring.”

Senior police officials were presented with a report earlier this month which estimated 15,000 sheep were killed by loose dogs in 2016, ten times more than previously thought.