Plans to improve powers to deal with livestock worrying cases are welcomed but proposals could have gone further, the sheep sector has said.
The government last week announced a strengthening of legislation on livestock worrying by dogs.
New measures include increasing the scope of livestock species and locations covered by the law, such as llamas and donkeys.
Police will also gain more power to seize dogs after particularly serious incidents, if there is a reason to believe that dog might pose an ongoing risk to livestock.
But sector groups have said that the new powers should have been further backed up by a 'significant increase' in the maximum fines that could be imposed.
The National Sheep Association (NSA) said it was an opportunity for the government to create a 'major deterrent to this antisocial behaviour'.
Chief executive Phil Stocker said: "Defra and Ministers responsible for English legislation are missing a trick in not taking the opportunity to increase fines in line with what the Scottish parliament has done.”
The provisions of the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2021, which received Royal Assent on 5 May, includes imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, a fine not exceeding £40,000, or possibly both.
A person who commits a similar offence in England under the new proposed Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill is liable to a summary conviction and a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale – currently £1,000.
Mr Stocker said there was 'very little' to reduce the number of dog attack incidents that were increasing year-on-year.
"In fact, the lack of clarity in defining 'under close control' puts farmers and dog owners in a difficult, potentially conflicting position," he said.
Recent reports of out-of-control dogs causing harm to livestock include a Highland cow being chased over an embankment leading to its death.
Meanwhile, Conservative MP Danny Kruger was recently fined after his dog chased deer in Richmond Park, London.
The NSA said this underlined a significant increase in the number of incidents amid an increase in dog ownership during the pandemic.
The results from the group's own sheep worrying by dogs survey has also revealed a concerning increase in dog attacks on sheep over the past year.
