Dog attacks on sheep must be stopped

RENEWED calls have been made this week to put tougher measures in place as regards dog attacks on sheep as the lambing season approaches.

Stricter imposition of the microchipping requirement along with tougher penalties for those who don’t comply with this – as well as tougher penalties for dog owners whose pets are found worrying sheep – have been called for.

Galway IFA Sheep Representative, David Harney, said that said that the number of dog attacks on sheep was grossly under-reported, due to the lack of action from authorities when sheep kills and sheep worrying were reported by farmers in the past.

“There are very few sheep farmers in the country who have not had the horrendous experience of finding their flock savaged by dogs, yet the official figures recorded only 241 such incidents in 2020,” he said.

Over the course of the past year, IFA representatives at national level met with Agriculture Minister, Charlie McConalogue, and Heritage Minister of State, Malcolm Noonan, to try and get tighter dog controls and sanctions in place.

For the past year or so, the IFA have put in place a ‘No Dogs Allowed’ policy on farms in an effort to get more action on the issue of dog controls in farming areas.

According to the IFA, there are an estimated 800,000 dogs in the Republic of Ireland but only 207,866 of them are licensed, leaving nearly 600,000 canines without identification of ‘association to a responsible keeper’.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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