20 per cent of dog owners fail to realise their pet chasing sheep can cause death or injury

And despite more than 66 per cent of respondents suggesting they understood it was legal for a farmer to shoot a dog if worrying livestock, 13 per cent said their dog only came back ‘some of the time’ when called, with almost 5 per cent answering ‘not at all’.

NFU Mutual rural affairs specialist Tim Price said: “It is a mixture of dogs let off the lead when people are out walking them but also a very worrying one is about the 44 per cent of people who let their dogs roam on their own property where the dogs get out.

Repeat attacks

“Sometimes it is without the owner’s knowledge, sometimes the owners do not seem to care – and then they get into fields and cause repeated attacks on sheep.”

It came as the industry ramped up efforts to spread awareness as the public descend on the countryside over the Easter holidays.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) has urged dog walkers to respect the countryside and has supported Farmers Guardian’s Take The Lead campaign since its launch in 2014 to help spread the message of the importance of keeping pets on a lead around livestock.

FUW president Glyn Roberts said: "We want to work with the public on this matter and hope that with a common sense approach we can all enjoy the countryside together and keep our livestock and pets safe.”

FG has also continued to work with schools to improve education around responsible dog ownership through its range of resources developed in conjunction with FACE (Farming and Countryside Education).

Somerset primary school teacher Kirstin Whitney said: “The resources regarding sheep worrying are very comprehensive and I will be incorporating the quiz and powerpoint into my life cycle lessons next term. Being an urban school the children do not experience sheep very often so this resource is a good introduction to the topic of animal husbandry.”