Wexford farmer Frank Boggan suffered every sheep farmer’s worst nightmare on Sunday night when dogs attacked his flock.

The sheep and suckler farmer from Ballamon, Ferns, Co Wexford, had just got through the worst of the weather when the dogs struck in a field away from the farmyard, killing four sheep outright.

Luckily, the sheep in question were hoggets being fattened, rather than in-lamb ewes, and the flock is beginning to settle again.

“We had about 70 in the field, and they were scattered all over the place,” the farmer told the Irish Farmers Journal.

The dogs had chased down their victims, leaving four dead animals all in different locations around the field, and badly mauled sheep elsewhere. “We put two more sheep down, as their wounds were too severe, the animals were in pain,” said Boggan.

“Another five or six have severe bite marks, and even if they survive, will be permanently damaged.”

He said 20 sheep have wool pulled, showing the persistence of the dogs involved.

The dogs were not located, but from the snowtracks, it was clear that at least two big dogs were involved.

“The worry is that they will return for another cut at the sheep,” Frank admitted. It’s happened that way before.”

Another sheep flock in the area was reportedly attacked on the same night, with one sheep lost. This is the most vulnerable time of the year on sheep farms, with heavily pregnant animals subject to any disturbance potentially leading to loss of lambs. Ewes with lambs at foot are also susceptible to attacks.

Loss of life

Even where dogs don’t directly attack sheep, they can herd them into a corner or open drain. This often leads to high loss of life, with sheep being smothered.

Despite annual warnings to dog owners from farming organisations and state agencies alike, dogs continue to roam the countryside. The situation will only have been exacerbated this year by the damage done to dog compounds, fences and yards by last week’s snowfall.