Two dogs put down after eight sheep killed in Mayo attack

Eight sheep died after a dog attack on a farm on the outskirts of Knock village in Co Mayo.

Four sheep died in the field and four were put down after the attack due to their injuries.

Farmer Brendan Cosgrave, who owns the flock, rents the land from his friend Aidan Flatley and said that Aidan’s 16-year-old son saw two dogs attacking the sheep in the field and immediately called the gardaí, with dog wardens arriving on the scene some time later.

Flatley told the Irish Farmers Journal: “Only for my son was off school that day, I could have come back to a worse story in the evening.”

“One of the dogs then started making its way towards another field with sheep in it, so you can imagine when they get the taste of blood what else they were going to do,” Flatley said.

'Two choices'

The owner of the two dogs, Flatley said, arrived and put the two dogs on leashes. He said the dog warden gave the owner two choices, “to pay €900 each to get the dogs back or to willingly give them over to the warden”.

Flatley said the owner was willing to pay the €1,800 for the dogs, but would not be willing to pay for the damage done to the flock.

“It’s wrong and there’s no law to stop them,” he said.

The owner eventually gave the two dogs over to the warden where they were later put down.