Gladis's Law: Off-lead dogs causing carnage, farmer says

Farmer Cameron Farquharson said losing Gladis was like losing a member of the family

A farmer whose Highland cow was chased to its death by dogs says off-lead pets are continuing to cause "carnage" by killing and injuring his animals.

Cameron Farquharson's pregnant cow, Gladis, was chased over an embankment at Eggardon Hill in Dorset in 2021.

It sparked a campaign for Gladis's Law, to make it an offence to allow dogs off leads near livestock.

A bill, which includes the new law, has been debated in Parliament but Mr Farquharson says progress has stalled.

The farmer, who keeps his animals on National Trust land, said in the most recent incident this month he found four heavily pregnant ewes dead in a single day.

He said: "The only way I can describe it was bodies on the ground - carnage.

"That dog owner knows that their dog has done that.

"We've got massive pink signs saying 'please keep your dogs on leads' and somebody has disregarded those signs."

Since Gladis's death, Mr Farquharson has been documenting incidents on social media, including nine dead lambs in a single day. He also lost another heavily pregnant cow.

In one emotional video post in February 2022, he said: "This is getting ridiculous. We can't carry on like this."

Wakely Cox, National Farmers' Union chairman for Dorset, said: "It's becoming much more common and obviously getting worse.

"If the dog does come off and causes some damage, do your damnedest to find the farmer or ring the police and tell them what's happened straight away because, if they know, they can do something about it and save some lives."

Mr Farquharson said progress of the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill, which includes Gladis's law, had been delayed on its journey through Parliament, in part due to the war in Ukraine, the death of the Queen and two changes of Prime Minister.