A farmer has shared his anger after one of his sheep was left with serious injuries following a ‘horrendous’ dog attack on Wednesday afternoon (August 10).

A Wensleydale Ewe (female sheep), owned by West Wight Alpacas and Llamas, was attacked by a large dog off Gas Works Lane near River Yar Boatyard.

One of the team from West Wight Alpacas and Llamas, based in Wellow, went to check on the sheep and found the sheep shortly after it had happened, with the wounds still very fresh – Ewan from Carisbrooke Vets was quickly called to the scene.

Neil Payne, owner of West Wight Alpacas and Llamas, explained: “When we got there yesterday, there was a group of seven with one looking incredibly stressed and another with all the injuries.

Isle of Wight County Press: The entrance of Gas Works Lane near YarmouthThe entrance of Gas Works Lane near Yarmouth (Image: Google Maps)

“She’s alive. We’ve had the vet out, who flushed all the injuries out, and she’s on antibiotics and pain meds.

“They’re big tough sheep, but they don’t do very well with stress, so I was very pleased to see her alive yesterday morning (Thursday).”

The cost of calling out a vet is £70, and Neil expects his total bill to set him back at least £150.

The farm has 300 grazing animals, including sheep and goats, and due to the attack, four staff took two hours to round the sheep up to bring them back to Wellow.

Neil said: “Our site is only 24 acres, so some animals are kept on rented land elsewhere, and they are checked daily.

“I cannot risk having animals somewhere where they’re going to be potentially attacked. Although it’s all properly fenced, there’s been a number of dog attacks in the area, it’s horrendous.

“We have a bit of land there [Gas Works Lane] and literally 200 yards away up Hallets Shute, which I have llamas on, so I’ve had to go and move all of them because I can’t take the chance.

“I’m a dog owner, I’ve got five, and I love my dogs, but this sort of thing is dreadful.

We asked Neil whether these sorts of incidents can be prevented, he said: “Yes, quite quickly! People keeping dogs on leads anywhere near livestock, and if you’ve got a dog with a history of worrying, then keep it in a muzzle.

“If the dog was in a muzzle, other than chasing them around and scaring them half to death, it wouldn’t have done the sort of damage you see in the photos.

“What else can we do? We can’t guard them 24 hours a day. It’s down to responsible dog ownership.

“Once a dog has a taste for blood, it’s difficult to stop, and things are likely to escalate, and it could be a child next.

"Words can not express quite how angry I am."

The incident has been reported to the authorities, and the County Press is awaiting a statement from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary.