Dogs killing chickens

bobthedug

Well-Known Member
This is not strictly a Legal Matter as such but could become one.

I am wondering if any members have had similar experience of the following.

Scenario is friends of our have been losing a considerable number of free range chickens and initially thought fox were to blame. The hens were not being eaten as it turns out which makes fox seem unlikely.

Turns out that the residents in the neighbouring property who is a rather anti social wierdo has been allowing his 5 dogs to go through the fence and into my friends property.

It is in a rural location.

Last night by sheer chance, the dogs were witnessed killing chickens and my friend was informed. When wierdo realised he had been seen he called his dogs back and went into his house and refused to answer his door. The dogs have never been put on a lead and have bitten in the past.

My friend is a very reasonable guy, and all his fences and gates are well maintained. Wierd neighbour as it turns out, (which can be seen from a path worn in the undergrowth), has been routinely "excercising" his dogs in my friends grounds.

It should be noted that neighbours has a considerable amount of ground to excercise his dogs on.

A few years ago words were exchanged over these dogs chasing my friends horses but to avoid a repetition, the horses are no longer put in the fields adjoining their property as he fortunately has a good bit of ground and had an alternative.

My friend works away and has his wife and 3 young kids at home and could obviously do without any hassle and wants an easy life. He has a holding number and runs a small holding and has spent an absolute fortune on fencing trying to do things right.

Has anyone experienced anything similar and how was it resolved?

Bob
 
After the third time in a day, I went round and "had strong words" he insisted it wasnt his dog but a fox, at that I told him the next time I saw a fox it would be shot, his responce was you wouldnt shoot the kids dog would you?

try me, it never happend again,
 
Have had similar trouble in the past.:mad: I never got involved in conversation with the owners of the dogs as i knew they were going to be difficult.
Just shot the dogs and buried them. On the first occasion no one even bothered,on the second incident(different owners) just denied everything and even spent half a morning looking for the dogs.In both cases never had no more trouble.
Dont get mad, get even.Tusker.
 
Have had similar trouble in the past.:mad: I never got involved in conversation with the owners of the dogs as i knew they were going to be difficult.
Just shot the dogs and buried them. On the first occasion no one even bothered,on the second incident(different owners) just denied everything and even spent half a morning looking for the dogs.In both cases never had no more trouble.
Dont get mad, get even.Tusker.

You are on a sticky wicket here and I am amazed you are prepared to admit to this. It is illegal to shoot a dog as it is the property of another person. You would be charged with vandalism at the very least and if the animal suffered because of a poor shot, you may well be charged with causing unnecessary suffering or cruelty as well. This is the exact scenario a friend of mine went through with a neighbours cat. Charged with vandalism, causing suffering and reckless discharge of a firearm as it was in his back garden. Luckily the courts saw sense and dropped the case against him. He had his guns removed in the meantime though.

Certain circumstances allow for dogs to be shot, the obvious being worrying sheep however, poultry do not come under the definition of 'livestock' as such.

It is irrelevant what you think is the correct way of dealing with the problem. If you want to risk loosing your guns carry on with this attitude because one time you will be seen.

I sympathise with the persons having the problems but lets keep it legal.
 
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hi, my fac states i can shoot animals for the protection of other animals, would that not cover it??? this is a question not saying i would shoot his dogs.stav
 
poultry problems

i have had this problem, only my birds where once in a lifetime rare breed show birds. extremely expensive (£300 each ish) and once gone where unobtainable again. i lost the breeding line due to a neighbours dog (pitbull) which was found by me playing with my dead birds on my lawn. although shooting the animal had crossed my mind, as i was not keeping poultry as a registered "farm" / "business" the law regarding protecting my livestock was a grey area.

I captured the dog, not a problem, it jumped straigt into my landy next to me, and took it to a not so local (275 miles away) rescue centre. the dog was handed in as a stray, as it had no collar or chip. I returned home to discover neighbour looking for his dog and offering to pay me compensation for my birds that lay dead over on his property. I informed him that there was no point in taking money from him as the birds could not be replaced. he informed me that he would have his dog put to sleep when he found it.

Nothing more was said, i stopped keeping poultry and went onto sheep with horns that ram the sh1t out of anything remotley interesting!

I did feel that this was not the dogs fault, it was the owners and as such the dog did not deserve to be put to death for doing what comes naturally, the dog was rehomed.
The neighbours fled when coppers came looking for them with debt collectors, and after a few more **** taking neighbours i now have a loveley nieghbour that is awsome!

my advice, if the dogs can be captured, then take them to the kennels, even if you are witnessed taking the dogs to a kennel, the owner will soon get angry having to pay the fees to get his dogs back.

Skipp.
 
Thanks for all your input guys.

The matter will be put in the hands of the Police.

Luckily ,there are witnesses and it appears there is a clear breach of The Dogs (protection of Livestock) Act 1953.

Under this Act, domestic fowl are defined as livestock and the "worrying" aspect can be constituted by the fact the dogs are off lead (out of control), on someone elses land and in the act of killing the chickens on what it legally an allotment with a holding number ect.

It APPEARS to be straighforward enough, but we'll see.
 
easiest and quickest solution is shoot the dog/s
most costly way is to shoot the dog/s

there is no easy way around it
ask the owner to pay up for the damages and keep his dogs under control or you will hav no option but to inform the police and also shoot the dogs if they are seen killing the chickens
 
He is going to go to the police and hopefully dog owner will mend his ways following police intervention.
I think ultimately if everything is done "by the book", if it ever came to it, shooting the dogs would only be a very last resort as all other means have been exhausted and would be seen as that.
My friend is a dog owner himself and realises that the dogs are acting on instinct but the noob owner needs to accept that his pack need to stay on his territory and that he must be responsible.
(AND my friend only has a .22 rimmie, there will be another debate if I get asked to assist with my .223! Now would that be legal.)
 
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He should shoot the dog. Be fair to the chickens, and to the dog too.
Once dogs start killing /worrying, they will not change.
If you have legal right to shoot on your friends land, you can shoot the dog.
I had a police man ring me one day, said a truck driver had seen dogs chasing my sheep on some rented land I had, so I got home at same time as local copper arrived, I had 243 in my pick up, so me and cop went out round the fields, found the 2 dogs, I shot one and caught the other and took them back to the owner, then copper advised them to have the one dog put down, so they did.
End of problem.
 
Have had similar trouble in the past.:mad: I never got involved in conversation with the owners of the dogs as i knew they were going to be difficult.
Just shot the dogs and buried them. On the first occasion no one even bothered,on the second incident(different owners) just denied everything and even spent half a morning looking for the dogs.In both cases never had no more trouble.
Dont get mad, get even.Tusker.

stone [INDENT said:
easiest and quickest solution is shoot the dog/s
most costly way is to shoot the dog/s

there is no easy way around it
ask the owner to pay up for the damages and keep his dogs under control or you will hav no option but to inform the police and also shoot the dogs if they are seen killing the chickens .


I can't believe that the above posters believe this is any kind of solution, but this website can, and evidently does attract all sorts of macho nutters. This is the type of clown you see driving some vast 4x4/HGV around gabbling into a mobile who sees the law as some sort of inconvenience which doesn't apply to them.

Most people on here run dogs with natural instincts. I've got a pair of Springers who almost dislocate my armpits until they're set free in the field. On a handful of occasions they've bust through dilapidated fencing working a spoor, and one's appeared with a murdered chicken. It's what they do. No amount of training, or beating it out of them can stop it.

When this has happened despite all my care and precautions I've tracked down the farmer or smalholder to apologise, and offered to pay reasonable compensation. Even the best hen isn't worth more than £10-£20 but you've got to make amends for the loss of what's often a family pet.

No-one with any brains could equate the end of an unwary chicken with the loss of a valued dog. Even in cash terms alone each is worth several hundred quid. I rather think the law would see the sense of this, and prosecute any trigger-happy type who acted outside his FAC, or in a disproportionate way. The posters admit that they did this furtively so couldn't or wouldn't justify their actions. In my opinion that's a contemptuous stance.
[/INDENT]
 
On a side issue, are chickens classed as livestock? I only ask because I remember looking into the issue of problem dogs years ago and recall that the legislation was quite specific that if dogs were worrying livestock (e.g sheep) then they could be shot but if they were worrying deer, then technically they could not as they aren't livestock. Not sure if that is 100% correct - need to look it up.
 
Yep,
Under Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953, chickens are definately classed as livestock if the land they are on is considered to be Agricultural land.
Possibly some variation in England and Wales but certainly the case in Scotland.
ATB,
Bob
 
The fact is these dogs are doing something they shouldn't be allowed to do. They may be loved pets, however the owner has a responsibility to his dogs and neighbours to keep them under-control at all times. These dogs may be 'Valued dogs', but what if the chickens owner cares as much for his chickens as you do for your dogs?

This man has a right to protect his property and livestock. Personally, i have had dogs chase livestock and unfortunately i have had to shoot them. I did not take any joy in this, but im glad i did it.
 
The fact is these dogs are doing something they shouldn't be allowed to do. They may be loved pets, however the owner has a responsibility to his dogs and neighbours to keep them under-control at all times. These dogs may be 'Valued dogs', but what if the chickens owner cares as much for his chickens as you do for your dogs?

This man has a right to protect his property and livestock. Personally, i have had dogs chase livestock and unfortunately i have had to shoot them. I did not take any joy in this, but im glad i did it.

Hi Dan,
Just to touch on what you have mentioned as did a previous posting re the "value" of chickens as opposed to dogs.
Several of the hens killed by the dog concerned, (the dog I may add, according to the owner is a 10yr old "top gundog"), anyway, the hens were hatched in an incubator last year by the kids who are aged 8 and 5 were named and to all intents and purposes were pets. The kids witnessed the dogs doing the deed. Put a price on that.
If you live/excercise your dog on land where it may encounter livestock, if YOU fail to control that dog, you must be prepared to accept that it could earn itself a bullet.
I am a dog owner and lover and I'm afraid to say that its no excuse to say thats its instinct or breed characteristics when it comes down to lack of control.
If it happened ONCE, that is an excuse and you then know you have a training issue that MUST be addressed or confine your dogs walks to the local park.
I am sure if someone came to my door on more than one occasion offering to pay for hens that the same dog has killed, I would be a tad upset to say the least.
Rant over.

Bob
 
Yep,
Under Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953, chickens are definately classed as livestock if the land they are on is considered to be Agricultural land.
Possibly some variation in England and Wales but certainly the case in Scotland.
ATB,
Bob

How is land defined as agricultural? Without you having to state the obvious. A few chickens in my garden giving me a fresh half dozen a day is clearly not agricultural.
 
Cripes what a crock of sh1t, Obviously some feel that the value of their dogs outweigh the value of chickens and go as far as to allow their dogs to commit 'murder' whilst out doing walkies...
(with all due care and precautions..ie still on a lead?):rofl:
Spangle vs unwary chicken - outcome would be an ex spangle and I would not loose sleep over it.
One is duty bound to assume the responsibility for ones dog and it cannot be mitigated by 'unwary chickens' because one is not in control of ones animal.
Comparing the cost of the animals is truly the height of arrogance.

I would add this type of dog owner to the macho 4x4 lorry cellphone clown/nutter arrogant bull-sh***er category
 
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