Hillwalkers asked not to bring dogs after spate of sheep attacks in Tipperary

One landowner said: “This is an animal welfare issue; many people do not realise the suffering their dog can cause to sheep and also to wildlife.”

One of the sheep killed recently in the Tipperary uplands. Photo: Mountaineering Ireland

A recent series of fatal attacks on sheep in Tipperary uplands has prompted Mountaineering Ireland to issue an appeal to walkers “not to take dogs onto the hills” over the Christmas and New Year holidays.

More than 30 sheep were killed, others were injured, and some animals remain missing after the series of attacks last week by a stray dog, Mountaineering Ireland, the national representative body for hillwalkers and climbers, said.