Farrmer spent two nights sleeping in field after dogs savaged flock of sheep

A farmer spent two nights sleeping in his field after dogs savaged his flock of sheep.

And another landowner, who lost 13 lambs with many more injured, said a dog was shot dead after another recent attack.

Farmers have made a renewed appeal to Ireland’s half a million dog owners to keep their pets under control, particularly at night.

They claim nearly 4,000 sheep are killed or injured every year from attacks.

Matthew McGreehan, who farms in the Cooley Mountains, Co Louth, who has 450 ewes, said: “We had an awful lot of dog attacks here in Co Louth in the last few years.

“I lost 13 lambs there in November with a dog attack and there was an awful lot more injured.

“Just the day before yesterday there was a dog attack on two farms and only my brother was there [it would have been worse.]

But the dog got away and attacked another farmer’s sheep but we got him. He was shot. We were very lucky to get him because he was on the rampage. He was on for doing a lot of damage.

“It’s an awful sight to see. A dog just rips the sheep apart.”

Flock owners are allowed to shoot a dog worrying sheep but must report it to the gardaí.

Speaking to RTÉ’s Ear to the Ground on Thursday Damien Hanratty talked of the shock of walking into a field “to see four sheep where there should be 50”.

The farmer, who keeps more than 300 sheep near Togher, Co Louth, said his sheep were attacked in December and again after Christmas and he had to sleep in the field for two nights to keep them safe.

“There is one still missing from the first attack about five weeks ago. And they would have pulled the wool off four others.

“You can see where the sheep ran and lay down and the dog literally stripped the wool off them. There are scrapes off a few of them.

“After the first attack they spent every night here tight as they could lie. Once it got dark they came here to lay.

“Two nights after they were attacked again so I parked there and just sat there for the whole night and they spent the whole night here and never moved,” Padraig McKeown, one of the country’s 49 full-time dog wardens, said he was often called out to kills.

“Not too far from here we had a field which was decimated by two Jack Russells. The friendliest dogs you will ever meet but they still killed five or six sheep in that field. It’s unbelievable the damage dogs can do.

“A dog thinks it’s a game running around after them. But the dog doesn’t even have to kill the sheep, running them around means all the lambs will be aborted.

“It will stress the sheep out, they will get stuck in ditches, so we always try to get to the area as quick as possible.” Farmers claim owners are not aware of the carnage their dogs can do if they slip out at night.

Damien Hanratty said: “In five minutes, half an hour or an hour, they can do some amount of damage.

Ear to the Ground is on RTÉ One Thursday February 6 at 7pm.