Farmer's 'heart sinks' when dogs chase her flock

Sheep farmer Louise Elkington says it is "awful" when dog attacks happen

A sheep farmer says her "heart sinks" whenever she gets a call to say a dog is chasing her flock.

Louise Elkington, 38, from Gelston Lamb in Lincolnshire, said incidents involving loose dogs were "awful" and put her animals under stress.

Ms Elkington said some owners were not aware of a dog's natural instinct, which can kick in when pursuing sheep, leading to "heartbreaking consequences".

"They think the dog is playing, they're not, they are wanting to kill," she said.

A loose dog chased Ms Elkington's sheep into nearby dykes in April

A flock of her sheep was displaced on 8 April after a loose dog chased them through fields and near a railway crossing.

"It pushed the lambs through the electric fence, across fields and into dykes," she said.

"The lambs got stuck, we had to pull them out."

Ms Elkington said the situation was stressful for her animals.

"They could've had a heart attack," she added.

According to Section 9 of the Animals act 1971, landowners can shoot a dog if it is worrying livestock as long as there are no other reasonable means of ending the attack.

"No farmer wants to do that, but they are allowed to," Ms Elkington added.

She said even dogs who are well trained can become fixated on sheep during a chase.

"It's so simple, put your dog on a lead," she added.

Chloe Watson runs a local off-lead play park for dogs, where livestock cannot be troubled

Local business owner Chloe Watson runs Tilly's Off Lead Play Park and has two fenced-off fields where dogs can run freely.

The 29-year-old, who also has a background in farming, said the issue had become more common and believed dog owners should be more mindful of their animals.

"It's very important for them not to be off the lead in the countryside to not only protect livestock but wildlife as well," she said.

"It's becoming more of a regular occurrence and worry for farmers. There are a lot more sites like this popping up, so hopefully it will start to reduce."

DC Aaron Flint, from Lincolnshire Police's rural crime action team, said loose dogs in areas around livestock can cause "stress, injury and death to animals", as well as a detrimental impact on farmers.

"When dogs off leads do behave in this way, it is a criminal offence called worrying livestock," he said.

"We would always ask dog owners to be responsible and keep their dogs on leads when they are close to livestock to avoid this risk."

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