The chair of the Irish Beef and Lamb Association (IBLA), Kieran Delaney is calling on the government to review dog microchip registration rules following a dog attack on his own farm in Co. Offaly that resulted in the loss of eight sheep.

Speaking to Agriland, Delaney explained that he lost seven in-lamb ewes and one ram after two dogs attacked his flock recently.

More than 120 sheep were in the field at the time, and Delaney said he is "very concerned" about the knock-on effect this incident may have on the remainder of the flock, which are due to start lambing within weeks.

Note: The content of the video included in this article, showing the dog attack, is graphic.

During the attack, Delaney was able to catch the two dogs and get in contact with An Garda Síochána and the local dog warden.

However, efforts to identify the dogs' owners were hampered by problems with microchip registration.

Microchipping

One of the dogs involved with the incident did not have a microchip, while the second dog was chipped but still registered to the breeder who sold the dog more than 10 years ago.

Delaney noted that he may not have been able to find the owners if they had not come forward on social media searching for the missing dogs.

Following the incident, the IBLA chair is now calling for legislative reform to ensure responsibility is clearly defined.

He stated that dog breeders and sellers should be legally required to update the dog's microchip registration details - including photo ID and proof of address of the new owner - at the point of sale.

Under Delaney's proposal, failure to update microchip ownership details would place liability on the breeder or seller if a dog is later involved in an attack.

He added that farmers who suffer losses due to livestock worrying should be able to pursue those who failed to transfer ownership information due to "negligence".

Livestock worrying

Speaking following the attack, Delaney said that the situation has left him contemplating whether or not he will continue sheep farming, with this not being the first severe dog attack that the farm has suffered.

He also noted that this incident revealed the lack of dog wardens across the country.

He said: "In Offaly, there is only one dog warden covering the entire county; she's very good but it is an awful big area for one person to cover."

Due to the distance from the farm and the dog pound, Delaney explained that the dog warden was not able to pick up the dogs on the day that the sheep attack happened, which meant that he had to keep the dogs overnight until she was able to collect them the following day.

Delaney urged pet owners to keep their dogs under control at all times, stressing that "it only takes a few minutes for an attack to cause total devastation on a farm."