Police are urging people with dogs to take responsibility for their animals, after a lamb was attacked and killed in North Yorkshire.
The incident has prompted a warning to dog owners from dedicated rural policing officers in the county.
On 10 June, at about 5.30pm, two dogs ran through a fence into a field of sheep at Marton Cum Grafton, near Boroughbridge.
The sheep in the field had all lambed, and sadly, one lamb was attacked and killed.
The lamb would have been worth £40, and will cost a further £40 to dispose of properly.
Inspector Matt Hagen, of North Yorkshire Police's Rural Taskforce, said it was 'horrendous' for farmers to come across the bodies of sheep that had been attacked.
He said livestock were often left to suffer a 'slow and painful death', as well as the adverse impact this had on farmers' livelihoods.
“We need dog owners to take responsibility for their animals – it’s important that dogs are kept securely when at home, and on leads and under control when walking near sheep fields," he said.
In 2018, North Yorkshire Police contributed to research by the National Police Chiefs’ Council which highlighted the economic cost of attacks on livestock.
The research also found that around 11% of livestock worrying incidents involve repeat offenders - owners whose dog had worried livestock before - highlighting the importance of reporting all such incidents to the police.
Estimates by NFU Mutual suggest livestock attacks nationally cost farmers £1.2 million in 2019.
Last year, a man was prosecuted and ordered to pay more than £800 in compensation after his puppy injured and killed lambs in Nidderdale.
Anyone with information about the 10 June incident is asked to contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, quoting reference NYP-13062020-0108.
