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Sheep kills ‘devastating’ to farmers

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FIVE separate sheep kills in one rural village this year have prompted calls for the implementation of a database of dogs and their owners.

 

Dog owners in the county are being urged to keep their pets under control after the latest attack involving a flock of sheep close to the Galway-Clare border.

The sheep were grazing in Boston, Tubber last Friday, when they were attacked by a dog. Two of the sheep were killed on site and a further two were badly injured and had to be put down. Another 18 were injured and six sheep are still missing.

Clare’s ISPCA warden Frankie Coote said these attacks are too common. “I am seeing these types of cases at all times of year. This is the fifth recorded attack in that immediate area this year. There shouldn’t be that number in the county as a whole,” he explained.

Mr Coote said the volume of sheep kills is making some farmers consider their future.

“Usually, the farmers find the dogs attacking the sheep and that is not a sight you want to see. It is devastating for farmers. I have spoken to farmers in the area and some of them are contemplating getting out of sheep altogether. People have to keep their dogs under control,” he said.

“If you are in an area with livestock, sheep especially, or well-bred horses or expensive cattle, you have to keep your dogs under control. This is an example of what can happen. Unfortunately, I am seeing this on a regular basis and it is devastating.”

John Fitzgerald, Clare representative on the IFA’s national sheep committee, believes a single database of dogs will mean there is more accountability when an attack occurs. “There has to be some sort of simple database for chipping so if a dog is caught you can refer to the database, find out who owns them and make them responsible for what their dog has done. You can’t let dogs out willy-nilly. Letting dogs out for runs is not good enough. You can’t have that and he ends up killing sheep. They have to be under control,” he stated.

“Microchipping is coming in but I know plenty of people with dogs and they have not received any notifications about microchipping but it has to be done,” he added.

The economic impact on farmers can also be severe.

“In today’s value, a fat lamb would be worth about €100, two or three months ago that would have been €130. A young breeding ewe would be worth €160 to €180. There is an impact financially. If you lose one sheep, the dog owner might give you the money for the sheep but if you lost four sheep say, or five, that would be nearly €800 or €900.

“If you can’t trace the owner of the dog or don’t have the sheep insured, that loss is your own. If you live anywhere near the border of a town, I don’t even think you can get them insured. It would be prohibitive because there are so many dogs around,” Mr Fitzgerald concluded.

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