A dog believed to be responsible for multiple attacks on sheep along the Carlow-Wexford border in recent weeks was shot over the weekend.

Farmers in the region, helped by members of some local gun clubs, took to the fields on Saturday (April 7) to hunt down the dog which had killed and worried sheep belonging to a number of farmers in the Myshall and Kildavin areas of Co. Carlow.

It is believed that the dog was responsible for attacks where as many as 50 sheep were killed or had to be put down due to their injuries.

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Speaking to AgriLand, Michael Fagan from Kildavin – who lost five sheep in total – explained that almost 30 people were involved in the hunt.

We went out on Saturday morning at about 10:30am; there was about 27 or 28 of us. We got close to the dog two or three times, but it got away. We managed to corner the dog in a field and he was shot between 1:00pm and 2:00pm.

“We covered a lot of ground that day; over six miles.

“The dog was a two-year-old, purebred St. Bernard. It’s micro-chipped and we brought it to the local dog warden,” he said.

The dog was shot on Saturday afternoon

Efforts to capture or corner the elusive dog had been unsuccessful up until Saturday.

Fagan – along with his family and other neighbouring farmers – lost a lot of sleep in the last few weeks, as they staked out fields in an effort to protect their animals.

The dog was responsible for a number of attacks on sheep along the Carlow-Wexford border

With the dog no longer a worry, farmers can now concentrate on tending to their flocks during the busy lambing season.

“We intend to start letting out ewes and lambs today,” Fagan added.

Farmers who lost sheep due to the dog attacking their flocks wished to thank everyone who helped in any way to bring this stressful situation to a close.