A farmer in south Co. Wexford is currently counting the cost of the fourth instance of finding his livestock dead on his land this year.
Mattie White, a suckler and sheep farmer in Bannow, said he has “always” tried to live his life quietly and to help who can.
However, after discovering two sheep dead on Thursday, August 29, White is “convinced” his farm is being targeted.
In 2024 to-date, White lost 10 lambs during an attack by dogs earlier this year, and more recently, lost a ewe, two lambs, and an in-calf cow in July.
With vets, fallen animal collections, stock losses, and extra feed for recovering animals, White is estimating losses from these attacks of at least €8,000 this year.
“Nothing is going to compensate us for the grief we’ve been through,” White told Agriland.
Pictured below was a cow on White’s farm that had been worried by dogs in July, and lost her calf, before eventually succumbing to her injuries.
Speaking on the several attacks on his livestock this year, White said: “You never think this is going to happen to you. This is gone beyond a joke long ago.
“I won’t stop ’till I find out who it is, and when I do, the full rigours of the law will be brought down on them,” he added.
Sheep killed
The most recent loss of livestock last week occurred when White discovered sheep outside his home early on Thursday morning.
“When I went out on Thursday morning there were 10 ewes that couldn’t stand up. They were frothing at the mouth. These ewes had been ran,” he explained.
The Wexford man then went to where the ewes had been grazing in a field the previous day, and he discovered the gate had been opened.
“The gate was pushed in, and there’s no way the sheep could have got out to start with. If the sheep had rubbed against the gate they would have pushed it out.”
White added that to open the gate you would have to give it “a good push as the gate gets caught”.
While his livestock had previously been worried and attacked by dogs, White said he believes the latest loss was not as a result of dogs.
“It wasn’t dogs this time, there were no marks on them. Even on the two dead ewes, the only marks on them were the eyes that were picked out by birds.”
When he is now checking his sheep, White said many of them “are not even getting up”.
“I’ve been farming here for 49 years, and I know my stock were tormented.
“I was hoping to have these ewes lambing in January. I don’t know if these ewes are going to go to the ram now,” he added.
Appeal for information
Speaking on challenges facing farmers in 2024, White said that he is not the only farmer to have the additional worry of their livestock being attacked.
“This year has been an annihilation of a year for a lot of people with grass growth, trying to get feeding in, trying to source feed. The only hope we have is to get an early spring, that’s what we’re all hoping for.
“This is not just about me, this is happening countrywide,” he added.
White is seeking information regarding the attacks to livestock on his Wexford farm, and is also urging those responsible to come forward and speak with him in the coming days.
White said: “As the old saying goes, you might see us fall, but you won’t see us quit. We’ve invested our life into this place.
“I don’t know how long it is going to take to find these people, but I won’t stop,” he added.