Two MSPs lobbying for stricter sentencing for livestock worrying crimes have met with the victim of one of Scotland's worst-ever cases of dogs attacking sheep.
Michael Russell MSP and Emma Harper MSP met with Argyll & Bute farmer Brian Walker, who, on 4th March 2018, found out that 17 of his ewes had been attacked during the night.
Although he found six sheep were able to be saved, four were already dead and seven were so badly maimed they had to be put down.
The cost to the farmer was estimated to be around £4,000, but Mr Walker never received compensation despite charges being brought against the dog owner, who was also allowed to keep the dogs involved in the attack.
Both MSP's met with Mr Walker at his farmhouse and took part in a round table discussion on the incident and livestock attacks in general.
This meeting was an important opportunity for the experiences of Mr Walker, and the local dog warden and Police Scotland officials involved in the case, to be taken into account by Ms Harper ahead of the forthcoming launch of an online public consultation on dogs attacking livestock.
Ms Harper, an SNP MSP for the South Scotland region, announced earlier this year in the Scottish Parliament that she would be bringing forward proposals for a Members’ Bill to toughen the law in the area of livestock being attacked by dogs.
According to figures revealed this year by NFU Mutual, the number of dog attacks on sheep has risen by 67% in two years, and such attacks bared a cost of £330,000 to Scottish farmers in 2017 alone.
Following the meeting, Ms Harper said: “It was important to meet with Mr Walker and to listen to his account of this horrific attack first hand on the farm where it happened.
“Mr Walker is just one of hundreds of farmers across Scotland whose farms are affected by dogs chasing and attacking their livestock every year.
“The farmer in this case has been left out of pocket by £4,000, which doesn’t include the future money the offspring and future generations of the now deceased ewes would have raised for the farm.”
She added: “What was particularly distressing about this case was the number of sheep attacked and the extent of the injuries which were mainly focussed on the faces of the sheep involved.
“The 11 sheep which died as a result of this attack, as well as the six who survived, would have went through an unimaginable amount of trauma and suffering during this prolonged attack.”
Brian Walker added: “I feel there is now momentum with the changing of the law to tackle livestock worrying and because the last significant law in this area [Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953] was passed 65 years ago, this feels like a ‘once in a lifetime’ moment to get this legislation right, and I and other farmers will support Emma Harper MSP in doing that.
“The farming community is small in terms of the overall population so I’m grateful that there are MSPs who are willing to take notice of what issues affect those working in the rural economy.”
NFU Scotland is backing Emma Harper's proposal of a Members’ Bill to tackle the high number of livestock attacks which occur throughout the Scottish countryside.
