Two dogs that killed 28 sheep put down after police enquiries

Two dogs that killed 28 sheep on farmland in Herefordshire have now been located and their owner has agreed to have them put to sleep.

Two out-of-control dogs had caused the death of 28 sheep in a series of recent attacks in the Dinedor area of the county.

West Mercia Police said the spate of incidents had caused "considerable upset" among the local farming community.

The force has now confirmed that the owner of the two dogs had agreed to put them both to sleep.

West Mercia Police's Sergeant Mark Jones said: “We have been aware that there has been considerable upset among the farming community in the Dinedor area.

“We have taken steps wherever possible to keep the victims informed of what we have been doing and have carried out exhaustive enquiries which have ultimately proved successful.

“We have now located the dogs and in light of what has happened, the owners have agreed to have them both put to sleep.

“I’d like to thank everyone affected for their patience and co-operation following an unfortunate set of events."

A lack of action by the government to tackle the crime is putting further risk to animal suffering, the sheep sector recently warned in a letter to Defra.

It follows alarming findings from a survey by the National Sheep Association (NSA) that shows sheep farmers are experiencing an increasing occurrence of dog attacks.

In the survey of more than 300 sheep farmers, 70% had experienced a sheep worrying attack in the past 12 months.

On average, three sheep deaths were reported each year per farmer as a result of dog attacks