Farmer urges dog owners to protect sheep

A FARMER has urged dog walkers to keep their pets on a lead after his flock of pregnant ewes was attacked.

Sam Austin, who grazes about 80 sheep on the field behind St Nicholas’s Church in Rotherfield Greys, was alerted to the incident by a neighbour who witnessed it on the morning of Thursday, December 5.

The female owner and her spaniel had gone by the time he drove up from his farm at Harpsden Bottom, where he keeps another 80 sheep.

The ewes had been chased around, which caused them distress and could lead to them aborting their lambs, although this is less likely during the early stages of pregnancy.

One also had a cut on her face which is thought to have been caused by running into a tree or hedge.

Mr Austin, 39, wrote about the incident on social media and was surprised to be contacted by the dog owner later that day.

She apologised and offered to pay any veterinary charges but Mr Austin said it was unlikely that any treatment would be needed.

He said: “I was putting my child in the car to go to school when I received the call so I couldn’t get there immediately.

“The neighbour said they could hear a commotion and lots of shouting as the owner was trying to get the dog back under control.

“There’s not much you can do when the attack is happening unless you’re planning to shoot the dog, which isn’t going to go down well with anybody.

“By the time I arrived there was nothing going on so I just checked the sheep and one of them had injuries.

“We won’t know whether the pregnancy has been affected until they’re scanned in January but they should be all right.”

Mr Austin thanked the woman for coming forward.

He said: “It shows a lot of integrity and courage as she had no idea whether I’d be angry when she rang. She will also be taking her dog on a livestock awareness course so she’s committed to being responsible and I’m sure it won’t happen again. It was also helpful to know about a hole in the fence so that we could repair it.

“We’ve never had a sheep injured before but we have found them wandering outside the electric fence where they’ve been chased out of the field.

“I’d encourage people to take that bit of extra care and make sure their dogs are on a lead around livestock.”

In October, farmer Tracy Betteridge called for professional dog walkers to be regulated after one of her pregnant ewes was killed and three others were mauled by a large pack which was loose on private farmland off the A4155 at Medmenham.

She said the incident had cost her hundreds of pounds in lost earnings and expenses.

Farmers may legally shoot dogs but only under certain conditions while owners may be fined up to £1,000 for allowing their pets to “worry” livestock.