A Devon farmer has spray painted a message on his dead sheep following a suspected dog attack which killed them.
Matt Baker, who farms in Alphington, painted the dead sheep with the message 'no dogs thanks' following a suspected livestock worrying incident on Boxing Day.
Five of his flock of 27 sheep were killed in the incident.
Mr Baker now wants to send a 'strong message' to those people who leave their dogs unattended in the countryside.
On a Facebook post, he said: “Please can people in Alphington be reminded to keep untrained dogs on leads and not let them out on their own around sheep.
“I would hate for someones pet not to make it home for din dins. These are just the ones I have managed to carry to the gate way.”
The post has gained over 200 shares, with people overwhelmingly supporting the farmer.
Kirsten M Wright commented on Facebook saying: “We had to endure sheep being chased over cliffs through the result of ignorant dog owners; often resulting in hand-rearing orphaned lambs. People should be responsible.”
Carole West added: “Having had a dog on sheep attack it is very traumatic for the farmer and could be avoided. Dogs should be on a lead around any stock.”
Sheep are valuable assets and any harm to them harms a farmer’s livelihood.
Chasing by dogs can do serious damage to sheep, even if the dog doesn’t catch them. The stress of worrying by dogs can cause sheep to die and pregnant ewes to miscarry their lambs.
Figures from rural insurer NFU Mutual reveal dog attacks on livestock cost £1.6m in 2017.
