The number of dog attacks on livestock has reached a six-year high, according to the Department of Agriculture's dog control statistics report for 2024.
Last year saw a 4% increase in the number of livestock-worrying incidents reported to local authorities, with the number of animals killed or maimed also rising.
In 2024, some 618 farm animals were killed or maimed by dogs, the majority of which were sheep - just under 500 were sheep, 101 were poultry and 21 were cattle.
Meanwhile, the overall number of attacks on farm animals rose from 732 in 2023 to 2,077 in 2024.
Livestock-worrying figures were first compiled in 2019 and are based on the number of incidents reported to local authorities.
Dog breeds
The report shows that in 2024, some 769 dogs were involved in incidences of aggressive behaviour in general. In 17% of incidences, the breed of dog was reported as unknown.
When the breed of dog was known, by far the breed of dog that was reported to have been involved in the most incidences of aggressive behaviour was the German shepherd (alsatian), which accounted for 6% of total incidences.
Enforcement
The Control of Dogs Act makes provision for dog wardens to issue fixed charge penalty notices for a number of offences.
However, the Department has said that non-payment of these penalties remains a significant issue.
Just over 1,760 fines were handed out in 2024 and just 600 of them have been paid to date.
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