“Keep your dog on a lead near farm animals” say Isle of Wight farmers, after horrific attacks and as lambing season gets underway.
Cattle owner Anna Smith, of Compton Farm, has told the County Press of her experience, earlier this year.
“We had just been to feed the Galloways on New Year’s Day," she said.
“A friend of ours phoned to say our cows had been attacked.
"Two of them jumped over a fence, and they were all heavily pregnant.
“The dog owner was very apologetic, but if your dog is that mad around animals, surely you would make sure it’s on a lead?"
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The Country Land and Business Association said: “Attacks on livestock cause great distress and threaten farmers’ livelihoods.
"Farm animals worth £1 million were killed or injured by dogs in 2022 in the UK - a 50 per cent increase since 2019."
Its advice is keep dogs under close control, especially near livestock, and stick to public rights of way.
If you see an incident report it to police, the organisation said.
Anna said: “I reported the incident because I didn’t know what was going to happen.
"I didn’t know if all my cows were going to lose their calves from the stress.
"Luckily, they didn’t, but one of them did suffer a dislocated hip. She won’t get any better. She won’t be able to go back out in the field.
"I’ll have to destroy her once she’s reared her calf.
"Another went on to have two dead calves. I'll never know if that was related to the dog attack."
Anna says her herd has been very scared of dogs ever since.
"It’s been awful. You start having nightmares about your cows aborting and how that’s going to affect everything," she said.
“In farming, everything is interconnected.
"If that had happened, it would have been catastrophic to the business.
She said support came from the police and it was good her concerns were taken seriously.
Another farmer to feel the impact of a dog attack on her livestock was Penny Smith, of Hermitage Dairy Farm near Chale.
A ewe named Teasel was was 'torn apart', she said.
Penny told the County Press: “We’ve had a few dog attacks over the years.
“In distant fields we had some lambs killed, but never got to the bottom of those.
“The most recent one was last year, and we caught the dog this time."
Penny and her husband Nigel have been running their farm for 30 years and have 160 sheep.
“A Belgian Malinois without its owner got into the field," said Penny.
“We heard a lot of barking and went up to see what was happening.
"It had ripped Teasel to pieces. It was awful.
“The dog was a not a pet dog – it shouldn’t be. It’s what the forces use.
“We called the police and the vet had to put the sheep down. There was no way we could revive her.
“I didn’t want to press to have the dog put down. He was a young dog and I love dogs.
“The owner was given a control order."
“That dog later went over a cliff and was killed. That’s how much control the owner had," said Penny.
She thinks problems have worsened since the Covid-19 lockdown.
"Loads of people bought dogs who don’t have a clue. They have no idea you’ve got to train them and go on training them all their lives.”
Penny wants owners to keep their dogs on leads when they're around livestock, echoing Anna's call.
Anna took on Compton Farm in 2007, from her grandparents who farmed it from 1926.
She has around 115 cattle.
Penny said: “I wouldn’t go through anybody else’s sheep, even with my sheepdog off the lead."
And she's worried about the attitude of the public, too.
"There’s a right of way across the field, and they waltz across there with their dogs tearing about.
“It’s a constant worry and now there’s an application for a dog field, at the bottom of the lane.”
The warnings have come at the start of lambing season and we are also being asked to help farmers monitor sheep and to raise the alarm if they get stuck on their backs - or become cast.
Sheep farmer Sian Grove said: "Someone driving to work noticed one of my ewes, Princess, was stuck.
"They put it on Facebook with a map location.
"A fellow farmer tagged me and within five mins I was in my car, on the way to rescue her."
Meanwhile, in Ventnor, National Trust Isle of Wight is asking us to be wary of disturbing baby goats.
The latest additions to the wild goat herd, on Ventnor Down, are routinely left in the vegetation while their mothers go off to graze.
“The mothers know exactly where they left their babies, and in turn, the kids will stay put as they wait for her to return,” said a spokesperson for the organisation.
“Although it may look like the kid has been abandoned, if you see one like this, please don't approach.
“It's also really important to keep dogs on leads at this time, as they have been known to discover kids in the vegetation, injure, and even kill them.
“Thank you for helping us to keep these wild animals safe, and for giving them the best start they can have.”
“Be aware of animals, the capabilities of your own dog, and keep them on a lead if you think there is a need, and you don’t trust what the dog might do,” said farmer, Anna.
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