The National Trust has restricted access for dog walkers on fields near the ancient monument of Stonehenge due to an increasing number of attacks on sheep.
Access has been closed on fields with livestock near Durrington Walls.
The charity has created the dog-free zones after discussions with the tenant farmers who are concerned by the number of recent attacks on their flocks.
Jan Tomlin, the General Manager for the National Trust in the Wiltshire Countryside told Spire FM: “A dog either worrying or attacking sheep is a crime, but despite this we've had an extended and particularly horrible period of sheep worrying with lambs being very badly injured on Trust land over the last month or so.
“The way it has increased is shocking and the injuries are very nasty. It's not just lambs being attacked, we've had ewes and even a ram being found injured.
“The way it has increased is shocking and the injuries are very nasty. It’s not just lambs being attacked, we’ve had ewes and even a ram being found injured.”
The National Trust has already tried warning signs for dog walkers to keep pets on a lead at all times when near livestock, but to no avail.
Sheep worrying on the rise
In the past few months, three farmers have shot dead loose dogs, which is their legal right when livestock is threatened or under attack by a dog.
A Wiltshire farmer shot dead a loose dog which attacked two sheep, a farmer from Aberdeenshire shot dead a dog which killed two of his sheep, and a farmer from Fife shot dead a loose dog which attacked his livestock.
A farmer from Hertfordshire said due to the recent rises in sheep worrying cases, he said that he won't 'hesitate in shooting in future'.
On 2 May, it was reported that out of control dogs massacred thirty lambs on-farm in Wales, prompting the farmer to share a picture of the incident as a warning to others.
Dog owners are being reminded to keep their pets under control and on a lead whilst walking in or near fields with livestock in them.
