A dog has been shot dead following an attack on two flocks of in-lamb ewes on Sunday near Cornamuklagh, Co Armagh.

“The dog attacked 30 in-lamb ewes in my field and another 15 belonging to a neighbour.

“They took an awful racking, but lucky enough I got a man in to shoot the dog before any of the ewes were killed,” Seamus MacDonnell told the Irish Farmers Journal.

“It’s a total fiasco when the ewes are in-lamb. I have a vet coming out tomorrow to check them out.

“Hopefully, they weren’t too worried and will lamb okay. The biggest annoyance is the fact that this same dog did harm before.”

Compensation

MacDonnell claims that the same dog killed six of his breeding rams during a separate attack in 2020.

“It was around tipping time last year when this same dog came in and killed six breeding rams and left another two injured.

“I had to buy in eight new rams in total to make sure they’d be fit to cover the 400 ewes.

Follwoing Sunday's attack, MacDonnell said the local dog warden has since collected the dog to establish if it had been previously chipped.

“At the minute, I don’t know if the dog was chipped, but I’m hoping to soon find out. It would be great to get compensation for the two attacks.

“Dog owners can make the claim through their house insurance. Most owners don’t know that their dog is covered under the house’s policy.”

Dog ban

IFA sheep chair Sean Dennehy said the latest attack on sheep in Co Armagh exposes the failings of the authorities to properly enforce the control of dogs.

“The horrendous impact of the attack is compounded by the absence of any support for the farmer.

“The failure of successive governments to tackle this issue has left farmers exposed to irresponsible dog owners.

“Frequently, these attacks on sheep are as a result of dog owners allowing their pets roam free while they are away at work or at night time.

“Dog owners are responsible for having their pets under control and must be accountable for them at all times.”

The IFA has said its campaign to ban dogs from farmland will continue until it sees significant changes in this area.

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