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sheep worrying


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LOL @ Showman

 

Yes its dogs who like to munch livestock, always important to break them to livestock, if not you could find yourself in quite abit of trouble oneday, correct me if Im wrong but farmers can legally shoot the dog if its worrying their 'stock

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It doesn't even have to mean an physical 'attack'.

 

An uncontrolled dog which chases sheep, or any other livestock for that matter, can cause them to miscarry young, injure themselves in panic and even die through the stress.

 

 

 

Any dog which has shown a tendency to do this should be kept on a lead or kept away.

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Thats the one thing that always bothered me when i had a lurcher , walking him in fields near to sheep, luckly in the 7 yrs i had him he didnt chase them thank god :)

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Dogs worrying livestock

 

The Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953

Under the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953 the owner and anyone else under whose control the dog is at the time will be guilty of an offence if it worries livestock on agricultural land. The dog must have been attacking or chasing livestock in such a way that it could reasonably be expected to cause injury or suffering or, in the case of females, abortion or the loss or diminution of their produce. An offence is not committed if at the time of the worrying the livestock were trespassing, the dog belonged to the owner of the land on which the trespassing livestock were and the person in charge of the dog did not cause the dog to attack the livestock. The definition of 'livestock' includes cattle, sheep, goats, swine, horses and poultry. Game birds are not included.

 

The Animals Act 1971

Civil liability arises from the Animals Act 1971. Anyone who is the keeper of a dog that causes damage by killing or injuring livestock is liable for the damage caused. For the purposes of the Act the keeper is the owner or the person in possession of the dog. The head of the household is liable where the owner is under the age of 16.

 

The keeper of the dog is not liable where the damage is due wholly to the fault of the person suffering it or if the livestock were killed or injured on land onto which they had strayed and either the dog belonged to the occupier or its presence was authorised by the occupier.

 

Under the Act there is a defence available to someone who is the subject of civil proceedings for killing or injuring a dog that was worrying or about to worry livestock. The defence can be used where there were no other means of ending or preventing the worrying or where the dog that had done the worrying was still in the vicinity and not under control and there were no practicable means of establishing ownership.

 

The definition of livestock in the 1971 Act is wider than in the 1953 Act. Here it includes pheasants, partridges and grouse whilst in captivity.

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Guest JohnGalway

On a farmers rights to shoot a dog I believe he can do it on 3 grounds, 1 if the dog is about to worry sheep, 2 if the dog is worrying sheep, and 3 if the dog has worried sheep.

 

Don't shoot me, I'm not saying it's gospel just what I remember from a long thread on another site last year.

 

Be safe instead of sorry and keep dogs under control :thumbs-up:

 

We've had ewes miscarry, drowned, ripped etc. It's not pretty :icon_eek:

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:)i was shocked that the farmer can shoot and kill your dog thanks for the posts :victory:

 

Trust me after the second, third, fourth time you have had dogs run through your sheep it becomes more than slightly annoying and costly.

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