Farmer issues warning as dogs kill 40 sheep at cost of €10,000

Sean McNamara, a sheep farmer from Lismacaffrey, is appealing to dog owners to be “responsible” and keep their dogs in, after the loss of 40 ewes over the course of recent weeks, at a cost of €10,000.

“It’s been going on over the last five or six weeks but I’ve never seen anything to this extent before. It is out of hand,” he told the Westmeath Examiner this week.

“We managed to get one dog and traced it back to Kilkenny through its microchip – but the person who owned it there had sold it on to someone up here, and the details hadn’t been updated – that’s the problem,” said Mr McNamara.

“These dogs are roaming the countryside, at night mostly, they’re coming from everywhere. There’s even lads coming out hunting at night with lurchers.

“What it means to me is €10,000 of a loss at the end of the year. It’s an awful blow. And this has been going on for years but nothing ever as bad as this.

“We have also had a lot of ewes abort as result, which only adds to the stress and the financial losses.

“The dog owners are irresponsible. They don’t keep their dogs in at night. They don’t care.

“I would encourage people to be mindful of where their dogs are at all times and to keep them under control. “These awful incidents can be prevented with the help of local communities.

“The situation is getting worse. Unfortunately we lose some every year, but this year has been the worst by far. Locally, we encourage all dog owners to keep their pets under control but the message doesn’t seem to be getting through to everyone.

“It’s very distressing to come down in the morning and see the destruction and injury that these attacks can cause.”

Sean says to insure his sheep against a dog attack would not be worth his while in the long run. “It would cost a fortune to insure against a sheep kill and the only chance of recouping the cost of the dead stock is through the [dog] owners.

“But with no microchipping, there is no way of identifying who the owners are. It’s worse, of course, at this time of year, with the ewes expecting.”

Since going public with his story, Sean has had a huge response from farmers who’ve suffered the same fate.

“One man in Moate got in contact to say he had lost a number of sheep, it’s an everyday occurrence in every part of the country.

“My message to owners is to keep their dogs in at night. Get them microchipped. Be responsible,” he pleaded.

The ICSA sheep committee chairman John Brooks has said he was appalled to hear of yet another series of dog attacks on sheep.

“At this time of year, sheep flocks are at their most vulnerable, with a lot of heavily pregnant ewes and some already lambing. It is absolutely vital that we all do what we can to protect these defenceless animals from such attacks.”

Mr Brooks said procedures regarding the microchipping of dogs also need to be urgently reviewed.

“Even when dogs are caught or in some instances shot following an attack, identifying the owners remains problematic. The issue arises when dogs are sold and the details are not being updated with the microchipping agencies.

“As a result, farmers have no way of identifying the true owner and getting to the bottom of the incident.”