Woman given criminal behaviour order after dog scares 200 sheep

Two sheep sustained severe bite marks and two others had aborted pregnancies after being worried by the dog
Two sheep sustained severe bite marks and two others had aborted pregnancies after being worried by the dog

A woman has been given a criminal behaviour order after her dog frightened a flock of around 200 sheep in Dorset.

Wendy Knight, 52, had been walking her dog - a German Shepherd - in a small paddock next to Canford Magna Garden Centre, Wimborne on 12 March 2018.

She allowed her dog off its lead. It ran off and was seen by witnesses attacking and frightening a flock of around 200 sheep in fields formerly used by Canford Magna Golf Club.

Some of the flock at the time of the offence were either pregnant or had just given birth to lambs.

Eventually the dog was located and put back on a lead. Two sheep sustained severe bite marks and two others had aborted pregnancies after being worried by the dog.

Ms Knight was sentenced at Poole Magistrates' Court on 11 February 2019 and fined £300. She was also made the subject of a criminal behaviour order for two years.

Police Constable Claire Dinsdale, of Dorset Police’s Rural Crime Team, said: “This case is a clear example of why all dog owners must ensure their dog is on a lead whenever it is near livestock. It is both distressing for the animals concerned and for the farmers who are tending to them.

“If members of the public have any information or concerns regarding dogs not under control near livestock, they too should contact police.”

The criminal behaviour order states she must not:

• Walk or be in charge of any more than two dogs in any public area or place

• Walk or be in charge of any dog in a public area to which the public has access without the dog wearing a robust and correctly-fitted collar and be on a robust and well-fitted lead at all times

• Walk or be in charge of any dog in a public area without the dog wearing a correctly-fitted muzzle

• Walk or be in charge of any dog on any land that has livestock on it