A farmer has called for tougher laws to be brought in for the control of dogs after 70 of his sheep were attacked and killed by dogs last week.

Patrick McCarthy farms in Sneem, Co Kerry, and last week discovered that 70 of his Scotch Cheviot ewes which grazed on a hill had been attacked by dogs, with some forced into the sea.

“It’s rough. Seventy sheep were killed after dogs pushed [some of] them into the sea. The seaside is bounding the mountain. Three washed up on to the rocks and their backend was eaten off them,” he told the Irish Farmers Journal.

Twenty of the ewes had lambed and 50 were due to lamb this week.

Damage

“Each was worth at least €150 and the lambs off them, I’d have fed them on and they’d have made €90 to €100,” he said, putting the damage at €10,500 for the ewes and €6,300 for the lambs.

“I want to see tougher laws for the control of dogs and on-the-spot fines for dogs off leashes. The ones that are left are frightened,” he said, adding that he is worried about them and their lambs.

“They’re pining away with fright. It’s caused massive damage. The cruelty to the sheep alone, it’s desperately cruel,” he said.

McCarthy said he has reported the crime to the gardaí, but hasn’t heard any update on the case yet.

Action

In response to the attack, Kerry Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) chair Kenneth Jones has called on Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue to move faster in relation to dog control or attacks like this will continue to mar rural Ireland.

“The horrific scenes in Kerry are unfortunately a common sight at this point. A devastating attack like this has huge consequences for a family farm and it will take a long time for this farm to recover.

“[The] IFA [has] been tirelessly working for dog control laws to be strengthened up, but the Minister has failed to move quickly and we are going to continue to see attacks like these devastate more farm families,” he said.