North Yorkshire Police’s rural task force are working on an ongoing campaign to spread the message about responsible dog ownership through literature, social media and local patrols.
Livestock worrying is a criminal offence, but it is also devastating for farmers to come across the bodies of sheep who have been attacked and then left to suffer a slow and painful death. It’s also the farmer’s livelihood which is been taken away from them in a brutal way.
In a recent case in Rainton between Ripon and Thirsk, a large German Shepherd dog was seen in a field, attacking sheep. The dog was chased away from the field, but two ewes and a lamb had been attacked. The lamb sadly died from its injuries. Appeal following incident of sheep worrying in Rainton | North Yorkshire Police
The police need dog owners to take responsibility for their animals during the summer months– it’s particularly important that members of the public keep their dogs on leads and under control when they make their way through sheep fields, and that where dogs are kept at home, the boundaries are secure so they cannot escape. No matter how well trained your dog may be, many breeds’ natural instinct is to chase.
