He reminded pet owners that it is their responsibility to ensure their animals are under control regardless of the time of day and that they can be held responsible for losses involved in dog attacks, with serious financial and legal consequences.

The warning comes after up to 30 sheep were savagely killed in a particularly bad attack in Rathvilly, Co Carlow.

However, it is a problem across the country, with incidents in

Sheep attacked in Co Down

There are 34,000 sheep farmers in the country who are currently lambing down 2.4 million ewes.

Dog attacks have the potential to cause destruction on a huge scale, as seen in here.

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Over 50 sheep butchered in 10 days