Dogs banned from Carrantuohill

Dogs have been banned from Ireland’s highest mountain because pets unleashed by their owners have been attacking sheep.

An increasing number of people had been taking their dogs up Carrantuohill, in Co Kerry, but the situation had gone out of control, with between 30 and 40 sheep being killed or injured, according to farmers and tourism interests.

South Kerry Development Partnership (SKDP) has, in conjunction with landowners, erected signs at the three car parks used by hill walkers and climbers going onto the mountain in the MacGillycuddy Reeks.

The signs say: “No dogs allowed. Snares in place.’’

SKDP rural recreation officer Trisha Deane said in one instance recently a German shepherd dog and a red setter were on the loose on Carrantuohill.

“The big problem is dogs chasing sheep and the situation has got worse over the last two years,’’ she said.

“More people are now out with their dogs and there can be terrible consequences when sheep are attacked. They can chase sheep to the point where a sheep just dies from exhaustion. There have been cases of lambs being killed and of sheep breaking their forelegs.’’

Ms Deane said they had previously put up signs for 12 months requesting that dogs be kept on leads, but that had not worked.

“We realise this can be difficult for responsible dog owners and what we’ve done is a last resort. We had no other choice,’’ she remarked.

She said they had no reports of attacks on people by dogs on the mountain.

“Carrantuohill is actually owned by private landowners and some people don’t realise that. The owners mainly earn their livelihoods from the land through farming,’’ she added.

“We found that some owners kept their dogs on a lead for a short distance after leaving a car park, but set the dogs free once they were out of sight,’’ she said.