Sheep left with horrific injuries after being mauled by Alsatian dog
A sheep suffered horrific injuries and had to have its tail amputated after being badly mauled by a dog.
Ryan Wood
The attack happened in Panshanger Park, Hertford at around 11am on Thursday.
An Alsatian went for one of the 150 sheep grazing in the field, close to the Keeper’s Cottage.
Farmer Geoff Wiltshire was called to reports that one of his sheep had been hurt, and he found the badly mauled ewe lying down on its own, 200 metres from the rest of the flock near the cattle grid.
The injured sheep was taken to the Royal Veterinary College Farm Animal Clinical Centre in London for emergency treatment.
As a result of the attack the ewe suffered multiple wounds and had to have her tail amputated because it had been so badly damaged by the dog.
Mr Wiltshire told The Hertfordshire Mercury: "We have a nervous few days ahead of us to see how the ewe will recover from this traumatic experience.
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"Over the weekend we will be keeping a close eye on her and take her back to the vets for further treatment early next week.
"We will also be helping police with their investigation.
"Sadly, this incident could have been avoided had the owner taken notice of signs around the park which warn of sheep grazing, and kept their dog on a lead."
Owners of Panshanger Park, Tarmac, are committed to keeping grazing animals as safe as possible during their time in the park.
Michael Charlton, Tarmac’s restoration manager at Panshanger Park, said: "We are urging dog owners to take notice of the signs we put up around the park to avoid any more unnecessary attacks.
"We want everybody to be able to enjoy Panshanger Park but there will be consequences for those that endanger the safety of our animals".
Top tips for farmers
Currently, there aren’t many ways to deal with livestock worrying but farmers can take the following actions to lawfully protect livestock from dogs:
- Report every incident of livestock worrying to the police. Where a dog is in the act and there is, or is likely to be serious damage, dial 999 immediately.
- If the dog is no longer present you should still report an attack or any problem behaviour to 101.
- The Animals Act entitles the owner of the livestock, the landowner, or those acting on their behalf, to shoot any dog if they believe it is the only reasonable way of stopping it from attacking, chasing or being at large in the vicinity of livestock.
- You must notify the police within 48 hours if this action is taken.
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