I have a small flock of sheep, Wiltshire horned. They are mobile grasscutters and have a very easy life. Two of last years lambs died, without a mark on them.
Yesterday I spotted a terrier type dog in the field - mainly due to the sheep running to one end of the field. Dressed quickly took and age to get a shotgun out of the ****** cabinet and went into the field. The dog was not chasing the sheep but they were clearly unhappy and packed together as one might expect. I fired 3 shots into the air, watched the dog run for it and traced the house he came from. Went round and asked, politely, if they owned a brown short legged dog. Yes, was the reply
.
I said he'd been in with my sheep, they needed to be responsible and control the dog or I would have no alternative but to shoot it to protect the flock, had 2 die in suspicious circumstances etc.
The chap says, I was a sheep farmer and whilst I cant guarantee the dog wont get out into the field again, I can guarantee it wont attack the sheep, its trained not to. I explained about spontaneous abortion, heart attacks etc (which he would have known about and this guy was adamant he couldnt guarantee to keep the dog out of the field but he would guarantee it wouldn't harm the sheep.
What about fear and its effects on sheep which clearly were frightened - oh yes he says, I saw him 'gather' them and then run back when you fired the shots. After much discussion during which I said "dont make me shoot your dog" and him saying it wont hurt the sheep, rather pointlessly. I left it there. Theres a point when its obvious someone does not want to ackowledge responsibility and banging your head against a wall starts to hurt.
We left it with me saying I would contact the police and would guarantee him that if the dog got out into my field again and started chasing/gathering the sheep I would shoot it . He said no need for the police and thanks for letting me know - it wont hurt the sheep
.
Without any emotion, what would you do?
The right and wrong of it are obvious - he has grandkids but doesn't seem to care enough to keep the dog under control.
I am thinking I should chat to the police and shoot it when I next see it - he's had his warning.
Any thoughts as I am open to advice and know once shot, theres no way back.
Finally, my other neighbour, a sheep and livestock farmer, had a sheepdog dog which chased my sheep and I told him - he got rid of the dog advertising it on FB as 'free to good home' and said, "thanks we normally just shoot them if we see them in the field with the flock". This is Wales and very 'sheepy'.
Yesterday I spotted a terrier type dog in the field - mainly due to the sheep running to one end of the field. Dressed quickly took and age to get a shotgun out of the ****** cabinet and went into the field. The dog was not chasing the sheep but they were clearly unhappy and packed together as one might expect. I fired 3 shots into the air, watched the dog run for it and traced the house he came from. Went round and asked, politely, if they owned a brown short legged dog. Yes, was the reply
.
I said he'd been in with my sheep, they needed to be responsible and control the dog or I would have no alternative but to shoot it to protect the flock, had 2 die in suspicious circumstances etc.
The chap says, I was a sheep farmer and whilst I cant guarantee the dog wont get out into the field again, I can guarantee it wont attack the sheep, its trained not to. I explained about spontaneous abortion, heart attacks etc (which he would have known about and this guy was adamant he couldnt guarantee to keep the dog out of the field but he would guarantee it wouldn't harm the sheep.
What about fear and its effects on sheep which clearly were frightened - oh yes he says, I saw him 'gather' them and then run back when you fired the shots. After much discussion during which I said "dont make me shoot your dog" and him saying it wont hurt the sheep, rather pointlessly. I left it there. Theres a point when its obvious someone does not want to ackowledge responsibility and banging your head against a wall starts to hurt.
We left it with me saying I would contact the police and would guarantee him that if the dog got out into my field again and started chasing/gathering the sheep I would shoot it . He said no need for the police and thanks for letting me know - it wont hurt the sheep
.
Without any emotion, what would you do?
The right and wrong of it are obvious - he has grandkids but doesn't seem to care enough to keep the dog under control.
I am thinking I should chat to the police and shoot it when I next see it - he's had his warning.
Any thoughts as I am open to advice and know once shot, theres no way back.
Finally, my other neighbour, a sheep and livestock farmer, had a sheepdog dog which chased my sheep and I told him - he got rid of the dog advertising it on FB as 'free to good home' and said, "thanks we normally just shoot them if we see them in the field with the flock". This is Wales and very 'sheepy'.