After facing two significant dog attacks on livestock over the last year, sheep farmer, Declan Daly said that while costs are a concern, the family is left with the “long-term worry” of ensuring sheep are safe in their main holding area.
The Daly family lost over 20 sheep on their farm in north Co. Leitrim, between a dog attack in August 2023 and August 2024.
The sheep that were killed, with more injured, ranged from fully grown ewes to over three month old lambs.
At the time of the attacks, some of the sheep were found dead in the field and some more had been run down into a nearby river.
Daly said that the unharmed sheep faced long-term effects, and that if there was any dog barking in the distance,”you could see the fright in them”.
He added that the harm caused by dogs was “not a case of dog worrying”, but more so an “outright attack”.
“The onus is really on dog owners themselves. People need to know where their dogs are if they go away.
“Everyone has their pets, they love their pets. At home they are nice, they’re quiet, but dogs can change when they go away,” Daly said.
The family has reported both cases of attack to An Garda Síochána and the local dog warden.
Dog attacks
Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) national sheep chair, Adrian Gallagher said that there has been an increase in reported dog attacks on sheep in recent years.
Gallagher told Agriland that there are two reasons for this. He said that more farmers are reporting incidents now due to awareness campaigns.
Gallagher said that an increase in dogs purchased during the Covid-19 pandemic is having “knock-on impacts” for dog worrying.
“People bought dogs then because they had extra time, and now they have gone back to work, and dogs have grown up, leading to some irresponsible dog owners allowing their dogs to wander,” Gallagher said.
Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys, launched a national awareness campaign earlier in the year to highlight to dog owners the harm that out of control dogs can do to people and to livestock.
The government has introduced a number of measures in attempt to improve the situation, including increases in on-the-spot fines of up to €300; An additional €2 million to support dog pounds; and the establishment of the Dog Control Stakeholder Group.
Gallagher said that these actions are “a step in the right direction”, but that further awareness and reminders were needed.
He advised farmers that experience any type of dog worrying to contact gardaí and dog wardens, along with informing farm organisations, so that other farmers in the area can be contacted to “remain vigilant”.