Aberdeenshire farmers urge pet owners to keep dogs on lead as two pregnant ewes killed

Farmers Ian Christie and Scott Keir count themselves lucky that this is the first dog attack they’ve had on their flock of sheep near Tarland in West Aberdeenshire.

They say with other farmers these incidents, also known as livestock worrying, have become all too common.

But they’re always devastating.

Scott works as a shepherd for Ian, and had been excited about the lambing season ahead. The ewes he looks after are all first-time mums, had been healthy and were from carefully curated bloodlines.

But on Thursday he found that more than a dozen had been mauled by a dog.

He said: “I saw one ewe with some blood around her neck and I thought that’s not right, then I looked around and saw another, then another.

“The sheep were scattered everywhere, they were down ditches, under bushes, it was just chaos.”

As we arrived to speak to Ian and Scott, they had just found one of their sheep dead, her throat had been ripped out by the attack.

Another had to be put down because of their injuries shortly after our interview.

Farmers hit out after pregnant ewes dies following dog attack STV News

Ian said: “This is really heartbreaking, any animal carrying offspring should be left in a calm state, and to have them killed by a dog is just devastating.”

“I just hope the dog owner comes forward and owns up, because yes, the damage is done, but I want their assurance that this will not happen again.

“That’s really the concern now, if a dog gets the scent of the sheep and know they’re here it could happen again.”

Sheep worrying is a criminal offence, and if found guilty, dog owners can be fined up to £40,000 or even sent to prison for up to a year.

Farmers are also legally allowed to shoot dogs if they’re harassing their livestock.

There is of course a financial cost to such attacks. Ian and Scott have had their injured animals treated by a vet, and two have since died from their injuries.

But it takes an emotional toll too.

Scott added: “I spend most of my life looking after these sheep and now it’s been wrecked in just a matter of minutes.

“This had the potential to damage us for months, it’s not just the physical injuries, but the stress can cause the sheep to abort a lamb, or if the lamb dies inside the sheep, it can become septic.

“We’ll be on high alert for the weeks and months to come.”

Ian and Scott’s message to dog owners is clear – keep your pet on a lead, and in a secure garden.

They say incidents can happen at any time, but they’re particularly concerned as they and others across the sector come into the lambing season.

Ian added: “People will tell us ‘Oh we know our dog’ but the reality is it’s instinctive for dogs to chase sheep, and you don’t always have control of them when those instinct kicks in.”

His shepherd Scott added: “Even not being able to see your dog for 15 minutes, is enough to cause someone thousands of pounds worth of damage, people must be careful.”