Four March-born heifer calves were killed by a pair of dogs on a dairy and sheep farm in Tullamaine, Callan, Co Kilkenny, on Monday evening 27 June.

The owner of the calves and a new entrant to dairying Patrick Prendergast said that three calves were killed when he got to the field and one had to be put down afterwards due to the injuries sustained.

The breed of the dogs are believed to be an Alsatian and a Rottweiler.

“There was 22 calves in the bunch, but they ravaged four of them. The dogs were still in the field when I went down to them,” said Patrick.

His vet is to assess the rest of the calves on Thursday for any other possible injuries.

Top calves

“They were top EBI calves, I bought good stock to try and breed a good herd. They were to be for breeding in 2024, but now they’re gone,” he told the Irish Farmers Journal.

“There was one little creature standing in the field, he had no face, but was still alive. I had to ring the vet to put him down.

“As I went over across the field, the other three were dead,” he said.

Scandalous

The Kilkenny farmer said that it is scandalous to have “restricted dogs” out of control and free to do such damage.

Both dogs are believed to be dead now, with one having been shot on the night according to the Kilkenny farmer.

“The next night we were down the field and the second dog came back,” Prendergast said.

The gardaí are aware of the incident and have further investigations to carry out.

“Gardaí are investigating a dog offence incident, which occurred at an agricultural property outside Callan, Co Kilkenny, at approximately 4.30pm on Monday 27 June 2022.

“It was reported that four livestock were killed in the incident. Enquiries are ongoing,” gardaí said in a statement.