Wicklow cllr. wants more action to prevent dog attacks on sheep
A Wicklow county councillor has urged the public to keep their dogs on a lead at all times to prevent further dog attacks in the area.
Fine Gael councillor for Wicklow, Shane Langrell, told Agriland he brought up the issue of dog attacks at a meeting of Wicklow County Council this week.
"We have our deaths, but it’s the consequences after. Farmers are going scanning their sheep with pregnant ewes, and they do not know where they’re actually facing.
"Some ewes may have aborted. It’s just the complications it can have on the sheep that survive.
"We all know sheep do not get over trauma. One thing I brought up is, it’s not the dog's fault. It’s the owners."
Langrell said members of Wicklow County Council assured him that they are going to try and raise more public awareness in local media.
The Fine Gael councillor has also called for additional dog wardens in Co. Wicklow: "There are only two dog wardens in the county. They're doing their best, but they're stretched," he said.
In 2016, Langrell's flock was the victim of a "horrific" dog attack.
"I went to look at my ewe lambs and my hoggets. As I drove up the lane, I [saw] a lot of hoggets on a bank and they didn’t look right. As I went through the field, I could see that there were 13 or 14 of my hoggets dead, I mean slaughtered," he recalled.
"There were two dogs on site; I called a neighbour and they were shot on site. Unfortunately, the dogs weren’t chipped, so I wasn’t able to trace the owner."
The councillor said that the impact of dog attacks is incredibly traumatic for sheep.
"I put the rest of them into the shed to give them a little TLC [tender loving care], and I lost another five," he said.
"All I can say is, it was horrifying. Of course, you have your deaths, but there is also a cost of disposing these sheep. It’s not about the financial side of it. It’s just tough to see," Langrell added.
On Monday (February 10), the Irish Farmers' Association launched the annual ‘No Dogs Allowed’ campaign in Co. Wicklow.
IFA president Francie Gorman said the new government has to recognise the “deepening issue” of dog attacks on livestock.
He said that the campaign was first launched in 2021 and that neither government nor local authorities have done enough to address the issue.
“The lack of robust enforcement of the legal obligations on dog owners has allowed horrendous attacks to persist and increase across the country. It is unacceptable,” Gorman said.
